Something Old, Something New
by Galiko
Summary: It's the last ever game to be played between Touou and Seirin, and Aomine Daiki has one last chance. He, of course, takes it, though it is far from what Kuroko expects (and entirely opposite his plans for the future). Aomine always does have a way of upsetting the applecart, so to speak. Misunderstandings and convoluted relationship issues immediately arise. AoKuro, KagaKuro.
1. Chapter 1

The buzzer sounds, 132 Touou, 133 Seirin. Aomine hits the floor with both feet, wiping sweat from his face, his whole body quivering and thrumming and _alive_. It's the best he's ever played, the best Kagami's ever played, the best Kuroko's ever played, and the last time they'll ever play each other.

He can see their faces, Seirin's team, especially _those two_ watching him. Light blue eyes are the only ones he cares about, and they're anxious, exhausted, and elated.

Old bitterness wars with common sense, and Aomine draws a deep breath before letting it go in a sound that's almost like a laugh. "Yeah," he says quietly, a grin on his face as his blood pounds in his veins. He walks over, broad shoulders drooping slightly, and says to Kagami, "Yeah, okay."

That's all he needs to say. Kagami gets it, and at least doesn't make a big fucking scene about it, just nodding.

Then Aomine turns to Kuroko, lets out a long breath, and holds out his fist. _Don't let it be too late. Not now that I finally get it._

It isn't surprise that blossoms over Kuroko's face, but _relief_.

He's not quite sure his smile is a steady one, but he tries for it nonetheless, even as his hand shakes when he balls it into a fist and lifts it. Okay, maybe even the bump against Aomine's is a bit lackluster, but he's _exhausted_, with every muscle still strung tight and trembling.

And it feels really, really good.

"You were amazing, Aomine-kun." For a minute, it _almost_ feels like middle school again, replacing awe with a sense of satisfied respect. Of all the last games they could have played, _this_ was the one that Kuroko wanted.

Aomine stretches his arms out over his head, the sweat-soaked jersey peeling slowly away from his belly. "Guess you and Kagami are the brightest lights on the court now," he says, shoving short hairs back from his forehead. "Shit, that was a good game. You…." He pauses, then swallows what's left of his pride. This is the last time, after all. It's way too late to make any kind of first impression, but maybe he can make a good _last_ impression. "You guys want to go out for ice cream or something?"

"I think the rest of the team might want to do something together…" Kuroko hedges, casting a glance back. "But-ah-I'll ask, maybe, for old time's sake…" Truth be told, he _really_ doesn't want to turn Aomine down, not when such an offer would have _never_ come out of a defeated Aomine's mouth even months ago. "Let's line up-and then I'll meet you outside of the locker rooms, all right?"

Aomine nods briefly, lining up and shouting, "Thank you very much!" as loud as anyone. Well, not as loud as that weird second-year on Seirin's team, but no one pays attention to him anyway. He doesn't _want_ to wait outside the locker rooms like one of the girls who waits around to get autographs and a kiss, but if it's the only way he'll get to see Kuroko one more time before he leaves….

Kagami leaves first, giving him a nod. "Sorry. No disrespect, I have plans," Seirin's ace says quietly, and Aomine nods. No matter how much they've both grown up in the last few years, he still doesn't really want to eat ice cream with the damn guy.

It's to be expected, of course, and Kuroko is quick to assure Kagami (and the rest of the team, for that matter) that he'll be there for their celebratory dinner-he just has one thing to take care of first…

It wouldn't be the first time Aomine has sort of made his plans hitch a little bit, after all.

His heart is still thudding in his chest even after changing, and Kuroko sighs, sagging forward into one of the lockers, pressing his forehead to the cool metal. Probably, it's the last game he's ever going to _really_ play. Maybe in university, but probably not (it wouldn't be fun without Kagami, would it?) and there's no _way_ he will end up doing this professionally, not with what he has in mind for the rest of his life…

Something less stressful, to be sure. Kuroko is rather proud of planning it that way.

He sighs contently at that thought, pushing away from the lockers and grabbing his bag. Right. Ice cream. Ice cream with the one person he's more relieved about apparently _fixing_ than anyone else ever. That's a good way to start wrapping up the day.

Ice cream sounds really good.

Aomine tries to remember that he's thinking about ice cream, about something totally appropriate, when he sees Kuroko's limp form slumping a bit against the lockers. Ah, but Tetsu had been totally on point today, zapping around the court almost invisibly, catching and tapping passes there's no way even he should have been able to touch, shooting at way better than the average Aomine's ever seen before, leaving it all on the floor, every bit of blood and sweat and tears he's ever shown.

Aomine _loves_ it.

He hasn't showered yet, and he's probably rank as hell. That doesn't stop him from seeing something he wants, something he's wanted for _years_, and taking it.

His hands are steady on Kuroko's hips when he lifts the smaller boy, turning him around to press him against the lockers, feet dangling to bring him up parallel with Aomine. He doesn't apologize, doesn't say anything, eyes dark and intent as he steps forward that last inch, pressing Kuroko against cold steel with every muscle, stealing his lips in a hard kiss.

_Mine_.

"Aomi-"

Kuroko _tries_ to think of a good protest. It's on the tip of his tongue, as are a dozen things-_don't, this isn't how it's supposed to go, you changed and this wasn't ever supposed to happen again, especially not now, not when I've been waiting for so long for someone that isn't you now and-_

Except Aomine is solid and strong and _hot_, his mouth demanding and stealing his breath, and even if it wasn't, Kuroko is sure that he wouldn't be able to breathe.

A muffled squeak-the last protest he can squeeze from his throat-is lost against Aomine's mouth, and Kuroko's hands desperately reach out, grabbing at Aomine's arms, up to his shoulders, his eyes fluttering as he sinks back into the lockers with a ragged groan.

Really not according to plan. Really _good_, though.

This probably shouldn't feel quite so familiar.

It _does_, and Aomine lets out a purr deep in his throat, a heady growl that says he remembers who Kuroko's first kiss was, what he'd looked like then, how he'd panted and squirmed and blushed and wanted more. They'd been kids, but even now Aomine wishes he'd been smarter, been less obsessed, had _given_ him all the _more_ he could want.

He kisses Kuroko hard, using too much teeth, leaving bruises on his waist, and pulls back only to yank Kuroko's shorts down before lifting him again, groaning, "God, _Tetsu_-"

This is happening _fast_.

Kuroko swallows hard, his throat bobbing as he gasps for a full breath, scrambling to cling to Aomine's shoulders and his legs, seemingly on their own accord, squeeze and cling at his waist. "Aomine-…kun-" He _tries_ to make it a protest. He wishes it was more of one, especially when he thinks a little frantically of the things he wanted to do after this game, of what he wanted to talk to Kagami about whether they had won or lost-

His mind sort of clicks off after a few more seconds of kissing and grabbing, though, especially when he wriggles and claws at Aomine's back and there's nothing in his nose but musky, heady _male_ and how _hot_ Aomine burns against him.

Kuroko tries to choke back another groan all the same, nearly impossible when his cock is so hard and rubbing against Aomine's stomach, and he shudders, eyes squeezing shut as he lets his head loll back, clanging back into the lockers.

"Should have done this years ago," Aomine grunts, leaning down and biting, sucking hard on Kuroko's neck, wanting to mark him up, show the world just who Kuroko Tetsuya has always belonged to. It's hard to _remember_ how he'd been nervous to go beyond this, to actually touch another guy's dick, way too nervous to suck or fuck the doe-eyed shadow perched on his lap asking firmly, patiently for more kisses.

Yeah, that's really hard to remember right now.

Aomine kicks off his own shorts, urging Kuroko's legs up around his waist, spitting on his hand and slicking up the already-dripping head of his cock. He should apologize, probably, because he's too big and he's going in without any kind of prep, but there's a goddamn voice shrieking in his head that if he's not inside Tetsu soon, he might as well be dead, and he can't help but agree.

With one strong, almost brutal thrust, Aomine shoves in, a low groan ripping loose when he does, thighs tense and strong against Kuroko's ass as he hears their hips slap together. It's too fast, too much, and god, he almost comes right there.

Kuroko absolutely, one hundred percent, _can't breathe._

He _wants_ to tell Aomine that it's too fast, too much, that he _can't_-but the fact of the matter is that he _is_, that Aomine's already _deep_ inside him with the obscene slap of skin against skin ringing in his ears, with the deep, cramping acheof being so, so full making his eyes roll back, and Kuroko _knows _his nails are drawing blood on Aomine's back. His teeth are, too, when he stifles something that might as well be a wail as he sets his teeth to one broad shoulder in his desperation, a sobbing, hitching breath finally drawn into his lungs as he clings, quivers, shudders around the thick cock buried inside of him, his own cock still throbbing between them, harder still with every tense slide.

_I wonder if this is his first time._

That thought is almost enough to make him come, and Aomine groans, fingers digging bruises into Kuroko's sides. Kuroko's fucking _tight_, squeezing down on him so hard he thinks he'll pass out from lack of circulation, and that just makes Aomine want to fuck him harder.

The lockers are noisy; Aomine makes them rattle with every deep thrust, slamming inside of Kuroko with every savage movement of his hips, marking and claiming and _fucking_ him. "You knew," he grunts, panting for breath as the sweat drips down his face for the second time today. "You knew it was always gonna be me."

"I-" _I didn't, not at all, I never thought you'd even look at me like you wanted something more again, not after_-

Kuroko _wishes_ he could get at least some of that out. As it is, it's all he can do to keep his voice _down, _to not sob and moan and _shriek_ when Aomine shoves in so hard and so deep that it feels like his bones turn to mush, and he's nothing but a ragdoll for the other boy to shove around and yank down onto his cock and _use_.

His back arches unthinkingly, and his world narrows to Aomine's cock inside him, the way his own feels grinding between them, and Kuroko trembles, simply giving in with a broken, ragged gasp, coming hard between them in shaky bursts, everything too-hot and dizzy and ah, god, he really might _pass out_.

Aomine sees stars. Hell, he sees colors, sunbursts, and a whole lot of shit that might be God for all he knows, his whole body gone tense and shuddering, drawing noises he's never heard from his own mouth before with every urgent thrust.

The second he starts to come down, the thought that _I just fucked Tetsu, I just came inside Tetsu_ hits him, and he spills again, another shaky, spent little burst deep inside Kuroko, already leaking out around his cock.

Aomine slowly lifts him off, arms finally starting to give out with the effects of the game and this, but one look at Kuroko's face says he can't stand on his own. That's fine; he wraps an arm around the smaller boy's waist, holding him close, giving his hairline a kiss. "Shit."

Kuroko manages a quiet, breathy noise that might have been an agreement. His legs wobble, his face flushing hot when he feels the slick, steady drip between his thighs, _everything _a sticky mess. Without thinking, his face buries into Aomine's chest, his hands grabbing and clinging as he flops there. "I give up." On moving. On most everything, right then. Kuroko doesn't specify, it's all the same. "Aomine-kun is…" Is there even a word for any of it?

"Knock it off, you _never_ give up. That's the most annoying thing about you." In spite of the words, Aomine doesn't make the slightest effort to push him away. If anything, he grabs him closer, a hand stroking up and down his spine.

"Oy, I-"

After less than a second of silence, the locker room door closes loudly, abruptly. Aomine groans. He _knows_ that voice.

The color drains from Kuroko's face immediately, and he's glad that Aomine is so _tall_, and he can hide his expression so easily in his chest.

_This was supposed to be with Kagami-kun_.

The one thing he's _really_ thought about once high school is over, once he no longer has those exams to worry about, once the final game of the season is done is _Kagami_, the thought of ending up like this with _him_ (except not quite like this-not shoved into lockers and kissed until his lips hurt and his body aches and a dozen other things).

Kuroko is fairly certain he's ruined that.

There's a lump in Kuroko's throat, and he can barely swallow. "I… think… maybe I should go…"

"Fuck that," Aomine growls, a snarl replacing the easy relaxation of a moment ago all too easily. "If he has a problem with it he can come take it up with me. Dammit, Tetsu, we're just _starting_!"

"Starting _what?_" Kuroko doesn't like how his voice shakes a bit with that question. "Aomine-kun, you didn't even… you just sort of did this and didn't even _ask_, you know!" If he was any good at yelling, that might have been what he was doing.

Aomine's hand hits the locker by Kuroko's head, and he leans down, looming over the smaller boy. "I've wanted you for fucking ever," he says, voice low and dangerous. "This was my last fucking chance, so I took it. I didn't hear you complaining."

"I thought you were _done_ with me." Kuroko's voice doesn't waver this time, even though he sinks back into the lockers, still unsteady on his feet. "Maybe I wasn't complaining, but I never thought you'd want this again. Not _really_."

"What do you mean _again_?" Aomine demands, grabbing Kuroko by the chin, tilting his face firmly up. "All we ever did was make out. Come on, I got _scouted_, I'm leaving as soon as graduation's over. I just wanted you so bad…"_ Even when I couldn't talk to you, I still dreamed about you like this. You bastard._

"… I meant in _general_," Kuroko quietly attempts, his eyes lidding tiredly. "Aomine-kun… if you wanted me so badly, you should have done something a lot sooner. I'm sorry, but I thought for sure… nothing would ever happen between us. And since you'll be leaving, surely you know that there's not… really going to be anything."

Aomine finally pulls away, rubbing a hand over his face, wiping off some of the sweat. "You make it sound like I planned this out," he mutters. "I just...wanted you. If you don't want me, say so. I'll leave right now, shit, I'm not a fucking rapist, I don't need to be."

Kuroko's face flushes anew. "I didn't say you were _that_." He exhales a long breath, shifting to claw his way along the lockers toward the showers. The sooner he's clean again, maybe he won't remember how quickly Kagami _left_. "I just wish maybe you had _talked to me_ about this first," he mumbles, pulling his shirt off with another wobble. "Aomine-kun can be very rash."

"You like it," Aomine says confidently, yanking his shorts back up from where they'd fallen around his ankles. "Take a fucking stand, Tetsu. You want me or not? I can come wash your….back."

The _look_ Kuroko tosses him over his shoulder is just shy of scathing. "Aomine-kun probably needs to take a shower by himself right now."

"Fuck that," Aomine mutters. If Tetsu's going to be like that, there are showers at home, and he doesn't give a shit who has to smell him on the train. "Later, Tetsu. You're a great fuck, by the way." Shit, he was going to be _nice_ about all of this. Not his fault Tetsu likes pissing him off so much. He _could_ have been petting Tetsu's hair by now, telling him how good he looked on the court, bringing him home for ice cream.

Ah, now he's getting angry. "I thought you had _changed_, Aomine-kun," Kuroko flatly tosses back as he turns on the water. "Or was that just a lie so you could get your hands on me?"

Dark skin flushes, and Aomine's face turns into a scowl. "I didn't think I had to be someone different for you to _like_ me, Tetsu," he says with a glare, trying not to take it as personally as it feels. "You could have stopped me at any time. I liked that a lot, and I _know_ you did too."

"It's more like… I just wanted to see a little bit of the person you used to be. You already did enough changing for me." The words come out exhausted-and he _is_, with all of this, with everything, especially with Aomine, but his resolve wavers as he flops back against the shower wall and lets himself soak. "I changed my mind. It's fine if you want to come shower, too."

It shouldn't be so easy for Kuroko to ensnare him.

It is.

Aomine shucks his clothes in an instant, coming up behind Kuroko and sliding his arms around his waist. He nuzzles down into his hair, feeling the water wash over both of them. "Just because I'm leaving," he murmurs, as if they'd never fought at all, "doesn't mean this has to be over. Come live with me."

Kuroko's stomach does an odd flip-flop, all-too reminiscent of the way it used to feel during middle school, or when he was a first (second, third) year at Seirin, seeing Aomine on the court again and again and again-"I've already been accepted to a university here in Tokyo." Aomine is always so _warm_. How does he _do_ that?

"So?" Aomine shrugs. "You can go to university anywhere, right? It's not like you're studying anything special." He grabs some soap, slowly lathering it down Kuroko's chest. "If you come, I'll put in a good word with the manager. Half court tickets to every game, and you can keep trying out until he gets it. Better than giving up, right?"

"… Both the insinuations that I'm 'not studying anything special' and 'giving up' are very annoying, Aomine-kun," Kuroko quietly says as he slumps back against the other boy, shutting his eyes. "I like Japan. I want to stay here."

"I meant giving up on basketball," Aomine growls. "You don't think you'll get scouted, right? Is that why you didn't even try out for college ball? That's _dumb_, Tetsu. Didn't you just prove that?"

"Maybe I wanted to do something else." It isn't a lie. "Maybe I don't _want_ to be scouted. I'm not like you, Aomine-kun."

"You love it." Aomine leans down, purring in his ear, and sets white teeth to tug gently on the shell of it. "I can see it when you play. Come with me. I'll treat you good."

"… Whether I love it or not isn't the issue." Kuroko swallows slowly, and he lets his elbow slide back, digging it between Aomine's ribs. "Are you honestly proposing that I go to America with you and live with you and we live happily ever after? What am I to do in the meantime, be your housewife? My English isn't good enough to get into a _teaching_ program overseas."

"Ah, so what? I'm gonna be making enough to buy you a fucking college if that's what you want," Aomine says lazily, slapping Kuroko's arm away and slathering soap into his hair. "You've got a month to decide. Or you can go run after Kagami."

"You're doing that thing again," Kuroko calmly informs him, tilting his head back to blink up at him. "That thing where you're a jerk."

Aomine rolls his eyes. "I _mean_ it. He's a good guy. Probably won't cheat on you or give you bruises or forget like, every important date." He looks down, upside-down at Kuroko. "But I bet he doesn't make you feel like I do."

"… I care about Kagami-kun a lot." It's best to be honest, when it comes to Aomine-blunt, too, or nothing ever happens or moves or _anything_. "And honestly, Aomine-kun-bruises are fine and forgetting things is fine, but if we did a relationship thing and you cheated on me, I would be very upset." It's bad, that he already feels like he sort of cheated on Kagami before anything could _start_.

Somehow, when Kuroko says _relationship thing_, it sounds really, really difficult. It sounds like all that shit Satsuki's always yammering about, dragging some poor loser to movies he hates, calling him every night to talk about _feelings_ or some shit, planning matching outfits to school events-ugh. "Fine," he mutters, trying not to sigh. "Is that what you want? A….relationship thing? Does that mean you wanna come with me to America?"

"What did _you_ want, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko twists in his arms to stare up at him, blinking away water from his eyes. "Because you don't sound terribly enthusiastic about a relationship thing."

"That's because you make it sound boring," Aomine says, rubbing a hand over Kuroko's head to wipe his hair into his eyes. "Just say it different. Say you'll come with me, I don't want this to be the end."

"All I said was that I didn't want you cheating on me." Kuroko frowns, his eyes lidding as he gently butts his head up into Aomine's hand. "I don't know," he quietly admits, "I didn't ever imagine you would want something like that. I need more time to think about it."

Shit, Kuroko's making a Big Deal out of it. Something deep inside Aomine tells him he wants it too, he wants it to be a Big Deal, but it's freaking him out too. "My plane leaves in a few weeks," he says, as casually as he can make it. "Guess you have until then. Fuck Kagami and see who's better for all I care."

Kuroko's brow furrows, and he turns his head, tilting it up to take a bite out of Aomine's hand. "Dis isn't abouf sex, Aomine-kun," he crossly says as he gnaws.

Aomine stares down at Kuroko, trying not to think it's cute. "Fucking knock that off," he mutters, "or I'm gonna make you suck me off right here, shit you've got a cute mouth."

"… Do you ever think about anything other than sex?" Kuroko bluntly inquires, releasing Aomine's hand with a sigh.

Aomine lets out a disappointed little noise. "Not when you're chewing on me. Or looking at me like that. Dammit, just tell me yes or no, don't fuck with me like this."

"I'm not 'fucking with you', as you put it." Kuroko shakes his head, pulling away to step out of the shower. "I'm going to go out to dinner with my team. I'll call you later, if that's all right."

"You never call me," Aomine mutters. "If you go you're just gonna think of reasons this is a bad idea, you know. You like me more when you're close to me."

"Aomine-kun overthinks things as much as I do, sometimes," Kuroko quietly notes, and turns around, stretching up on tiptoe to hesitantly brush a kiss to the other boy's cheek. "I'll call you. I promise."

Heat blooms in Aomine's chest, and he turns away, voice gruff as he says, "Shit, that's almost worth losing for. Yeah, go."

Sometimes-and really, _sometimes_-Aomine can be cute. Kuroko's lips twitch into a faint smile, and he hurries to dry off and get dressed, trying not to stress _too_ badly on the issue of Kagami, and what he'd seen. _After dinner-I'll tackle that after dinner._

Before Kuroko can move more than a few steps, Coach Aida bursts in, eyes wild until she locks on Kuroko. "Kuroko!" she shrieks, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground. "What did you do? What did you _do_? What the hell are we supposed to do now? I'm going to _kill_ you!"

"Eh?" Kuroko blinks hard, staring at her as he dangles in her grasp. "What _did_ I do?" he asks, thoroughly confused. "I've just been in here the whole time…"

"To Kagami!" She lifts him bodily, getting a knee into his stomach and pinning him back against the locker. "He came to get you for dinner, and then he ran back to the restaurant and told us he was leaving for America! _Tonight! What the hell did you do?_"

Kuroko feels as though the breath has been zapped from his lungs, and it has nothing to do with his coach kneeing him in the gut.

He swallows hard, shaking his head slowly. "I… didn't do anything. I'm sorry, I don't know what could be wrong." _He just saw me clinging to Aomine after sex, that's all_. Kuroko briefly shuts his eyes, trying to ignore the lurching flip-flop of his stomach, or the way his heart tries to pound its way out of his chest. "I can try and call him to see…" _He's probably already on his way to the airport and wouldn't answer a call from me, anyway. I've ruined it, I've completely ruined everything._

Aida releases him, stumbling back to slump down to one of the benches, chest heaving as she starts to cry. "All of this...all these _years_...we finally have a chance at taking Nationals, our_ very last game_, and he pulls something like this? W-why would he do that? You know him better than anyone, Kuroko! You have to do something!"

"I'll…" What can he do if Kagami is already leaving? That being said, she _does_ have a point-it isn't like Kagami at all just to take off. That makes it even more frightening, to think Kagami is really _that_ upset. Kuroko swallows, steadying himself. "I'll figure it out," he quietly says, hurriedly grabbing his bag. "I'm sure it must be something else, Coach. Please don't cry, go and enjoy dinner with the rest of the team and I will take care of it." _Somehow._

"You-" Aida wipes a hand across her face, summoning her fighting spirit. It doesn't stop the tears from coming, but it does make them look a bit ridiculous on her frowning face. "Okay! We'll get Kagami back, no matter what. He can't have left from the airport yet, right?"

"I'll see if I can catch him there before he leaves." This was _not_ how he wanted to talk to Kagami about anything, but needs must… _And this is my fault. Entirely. _

"Here." Aida shoves a couple 10,000 yen bills at him, ushering him out the door. "He can't be _that_ far ahead of you. Whatever you did, just apologize and I don't care what it is, okay? As long as you get him back before the game."

"Ah… yes." _Please let this be a thing I can fix, please._

It would have helped if Kagami had answered just _one_ of his calls, or told anyone on the team which airport he was flying out of.

Narita Airport would have been the logical choice. It _should_ have been. But with nearly 45 minutes of scouring and desperately querying the staff (really, how hard can it be to miss a ridiculously tall redhead?), Kuroko realizes not everything wants to be logical today.

He should have known, really.

By the time he makes it to Haneda Airport, Kuroko considers curling up on the floor and _sleeping_. "The last flight to Los Angeles left about 45 minutes ago," the clerk apologetically tells him, and Kuroko definitely wants to roll over and never move again.

_I'm sorry, Coach_, is the text message he tiredly sends, trying to think enough to form words through the pounding of his head, and the deep, sick pit in his stomach. _I missed him completely. _

It's probably rude to show up at Kuroko's house at six in the morning the next day, but Aida Riko is very, very done with caring about rudeness. His mother is awake, at least, speaking in soothingly calm tones and agreeing to show her in. At least she's not trying to show off baby pictures or threatening to kill everyone like her own father.

Aida knocks too hard, refusing to take sleep for an answer. "Ooooooi. Kuroko. Open up, it's important."

Slowly, the door creaks open, and Kuroko's very tousled bedhead pokes out, his eyes still glazed from what little sleep he managed to procure. "Coach," he dimly greets. "It's very early and you're very loud." _And I didn't sleep, and I'm a horrible person. _

Aida smacks him upside the head-to wake him up, of course-and shoves an envelope into his hands. "We all pitched in together from our summer jobs," she explains, eyes narrowed. "We were going to buy a memorial to the first year of Seirin winning Nationals at school, but this is more important."

Kuroko blinks, still not quite connecting the dots even as he stares at the envelope. "… Pitched in? For what?"

"A ticket. I checked with your dad, he said you have a passport, and you're the only one who can get through to the big idiot." She pushes her hair out of her face, huffing. "Kagami's Los Angeles address is in there. I got it from school records. I also got you excused from school for the next three days, and your flight leaves in five hours. You should get dressed."

"Oh." _This isn't going to work. Kagami-kun is angry with me, he probably hates me, I don't even know if I can face him after what he saw-_

Kuroko sucks in a slow, steadying breath. "I'll get him to come back." _Maybe, if I make this about the team and not about me at all..._

Aida squeezes his shoulders, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Kuroko. All our hopes depend on you, now. _Everything_ depends on you."

That probably is supposed to make him feel better.

It doesn't. At all.

At the airport, his finger lingers over sending Aomine a text message-_it'll be a few days, I have to take a trip, I'm sorry_-before simply deleting it. This is more important right now. This is about the _team_, and it absolutely has to be done.

It doesn't stop him from being painfully nervous for the entire flight.

It would also be his luck that upon arriving in Los Angeles, it's a rainy mess. Bonus points for taking forever to get a cab (no one ever notices him standing and waiting, after all) and even _more_ points for finally arriving at Kagami's supposed address and no one being home.

Ah, yes, there's that urge to simply lie down again.

Kuroko settles for sitting on the front steps, curled up around his bag, and simply waits. _Please don't hate me, please._

It's well past sunset when an exhausted Kagami Taiga staggers home, face wan and pale, eyes heavily lidded as he parks the car and locks it. He rubs his eyes, walks up to the house, and sighs. "Oi," he mutters in English, "buddy, you can't sleep there. Let me give you a few bucks for a sandwich, I'll get you to a shelter."

Kuroko stirs, lifts his head, and stares up at Kagami over his bag. Somehow, even just sleeping curled up into a ball, his hair has the remarkable ability of turning thoroughly mussed. Maybe it was the rain. "Kagami-kun," he quietly greets. "I'm sorry, you probably didn't expect me to be here at all."

Kagami blinks once, slowly. He rubs his tired eyes, certain they're playing tricks on him, then falls back onto the ground in shock. "K-K-Kuroko! What-wait, where am I? No, this is definitely L.A.!"

"… The team paid for my ticket to come." Kuroko slowly picks himself up, dusting himself off. "If you want me to leave, I will. But… I'd like to talk to you first, at least a little bit."

"Jesus, you're soaked." Kagami pulls out his keys, opening the lock and ushering Kuroko inside. "Come in, god, you came all this way, did you think I'd make you sleep on the street?"

_Maybe_. _If you were angry enough_. "Considering how quickly you left, I…" Kuroko swallows, anxiety returning in a rush. _It's about the team, not you. Don't bring any of that up, don't try to explain it, just-_

Kagami's house is enormous as far as Kuroko is concerned, and the floors a little slippery and sort of startlingly polished. Those are the odd things one notes when they're in the process of just flopping down and kneeling with his forehead pressed to the floor. "Please allow me to deeply apologize. No matter how upset you are with me, please do not let it sway your judgement regarding the team. Everyone has worked so hard, and I don't want to see any of them punished because of my actions."

"Kuroko…"

Kagami stares down at the smaller boy, at the kind of bow he's only seen in movies where someone's accidentally murdered his boss's wife or something. "Kuroko, what the hell?" he asks, flopping down into a chair with the last of his strength. "Did-did you think this was about you?"

He stares, stunned realization slowly dawning. "Did no one get my message? I left the Coach a message from the taxi, I-"

He reaches out, grabbing Kuroko by the arm and hauling him up. "Oi, my dad got hit by a car a couple days ago. He's in Intensive Care. I've already got my ticket back to Japan tomorrow. You really think I'd miss our last game?"

Kuroko blinks rapidly, staring up at Kagami with too-wide, confused eyes. "… No one got a message from you," he weakly says, unsure if he's starting to wobble from relief or how tired he is. "I thought… everyone thought, from how fast you left after going to get me for dinner that you were upset with me… and so…"

Kagami stares at him, dragging him to the sofa instead so they can both sit down-god knows they both need it. "You mean about you and Aomine? Shit. I-I didn't _know_, but you think that would make me walk out on Seirin?" He shifts, rubbing his eyes, and they burn from lack of sleep and stress. "Can't say I was too happy about it, though," he admits. "I think you deserve better."

Kuroko's face burns, and that just makes him feel more tired and lightheaded by the minute. Talking about this at all when they're both exhausted is probably the worst idea ever, but when _else_ is he going to be able to?

He also tries not to be upset in some odd, silly way, that this _wasn't_ about him, and that Kagami _isn't_ angry with him (no, not angry, he doesn't want that, he wants jealous, maybe, just a little).

"It's not… we aren't… together." That makes it even more embarrassing. Kuroko's voice drops to another, quieter level. "But he wants us to be, and for me to move to America with him. He got scouted, you know."

Kagami swallows. That's _nothing_ like the future he'd envisioned, with them sharing an apartment and going to school together, and him at least having Kuroko for the next four years. It's nothing like the future he wants, either. "I'm….probably the worst person to ask for advice about that," he says quietly. _Don't ask why. I'll probably just tell you. I'd have done it after the last game, anyway._

"It's okay. I don't think I want to go, anyway." Kuroko slumps back, drawing a knee up to his chest. "I had other things in mind. Lots of them. And Aomine-kun is… I don't think he'd be as happy with me as he'd like to think he would be."

"He looked pretty happy," Kagami says under his breath. That's a hard image to get out of his mind, Aomine sated and content, Kuroko shaking and relaxed, curled up against his broad chest. Even the thought of it makes him want to punch something. "I didn't….think you were that kind of guy, you know."

_That's_ a loaded response if Kuroko has ever heard one. He slinks down, hiding partially behind his own knees. "I'm not. I mean, I'm not the sort of person that does things like that in locker rooms after games. Or anywhere public. Or at all, prior to then…"

Kagami blinks. "You-oh." He runs a hand back through his hair-definitely time to cut it-and slumps back onto the couch. "You're lucky it was just me. Most guys would think different about you, you know? I just want to punch Aomine."

"… Why?" Kuroko's eyes peek out over his knees. "You said you weren't upset about it…"

"Well, yeah, I'm not mad at you or anything." Kagami feels the heat rising in his cheeks, and he looks away, focusing on his dad's big screen plasma TV, the very few family photos, too many of them containing a strange blonde woman. "I just….ah, forget it. You don't need me saying stuff like that before the game. I was gonna wait until after."

"I really might need you saying stuff before the game." Kuroko's voice is still quiet, but a _little_ less nervous, and just shy of hopeful, no matter how his heart beats too-fast in his chest. "I was going to say things to you, too, but I thought… you were angry with me."

Kagami gives him a side-eye, not entirely sure if Kuroko's saying what he thinks he's saying. This isn't a conversation he'd expected to have _here_, of all places, and it makes him a bit uncomfortable. "I….shit, don't-look, I _saw_ you two, I know you're a thing even if you didn't plan it. Or you're just-just _doing_ him, and that's-"_ I can't want you if you're with someone else. I'm not sure how I feel about you sleeping around, and I'm not sure which is worse._

"We aren't a thing," Kuroko protests, that little bit of hope wavering already. "We aren't a thing, and I'm not… just… _doing_ things with him. I didn't plan on that at all, it just sort of happened and I'm not sure if I even _want_ something like that with him, but Aomine-kun… he's…" Kuroko sinks back again, biting his lip. "After you and I graduated," he finally, quietly says, "I wanted _us_ to be a thing."

God, Kagami's way too tired for this. His heart is supposed to be thumping at this, and it makes a weak effort, overcome by the fact that it's been about three days since he's slept properly and not in a hospital chair. He turns, cupping Kuroko's face in two large hands, and lays his forehead against Kuroko's. "Be sure, okay? Be more sure than you are about Aomine. I-I want you," he admits, and it feels like a thorn finally being pulled out of his foot, "but not if I have to share you with him. Or anyone."

Kuroko isn't sure who he should be more angry at now-himself, or Aomine.

_Myself_, he wearily decides upon, because this _shouldn't_ be a choice at all, not when Kagami is saying exactly what he wants to hear, and his hands are big and warm and everything about him is exactly what he wants and _wishes_ Aomine would be but _isn't_.

_You're just gonna think of reasons why this is a bad idea._

Isn't that sort of the point? Kuroko huffs out a soft breath, and tips his head forward, nudging his nose gently against Kagami's. "I don't want to be shared, either," he quietly admits. "I never thought anything would happen between Aomine-kun and I. I just wanted it to be us."

Kagami breathes out a sigh, relieved as he just sort of nuzzles his nose against Kuroko's. "I never thought you'd really say that," he admits. "You're so normal, you know? And I know it's a really big deal in Japan, but I bet we can make it work. If you really want to, I mean."

"… Kagami-kun is more normal," Kuroko calmly points out, eyes lidding. "I always thought I was a little strange. And… it isn't a big deal if no one knows about it. It isn't as if we have to go around waving banners-they _do that_ in America," he hushedly adds. "Americans are strange."

"_I _don't go around waving flags," Kagami says hastily. "God, my dad would kill me. At least in Japan it's more normal for two guys to live together to save money. No one's gonna think that's weird, if we….I mean, if you wanted to. _I_ do."

"I already found a few possible apartments." Kuroko at least has the decency to look a bit embarrassed about it. "I thought… definitely, it would happen."

Kagami grins, cupping Kuroko's head and gently stroking his hair. "I'm glad I'm not the only one." His face falls a little, and he adds, "Though….if you wanted that, and planned on it….why Aomine?"

"… Aomine-kun is good at messing up plans." Kuroko sags forward, hooking his chin over one of Kagami's shoulders. "I didn't think he'd do something like this," he says with a soft sigh. "And I certainly would have even considered him at all if you hadn't walked in… and then left like that. I thought for sure Kagami-kun was angry and hated me."

"Don't be dumb," Kagami mutters. Kuroko feels ridiculously light in his arms, and he pulls him a bit closer because of it. "We weren't dating or anything. You can do whatever you want to, even if he's a giant dick." He sighs, closing his eyes, and ahhh, that feels _way_ too good. Might not open them again, maybe ever. "Don't really like thinking about him touching you, though."

Kuroko flops, giving into the urge to finally lean entirely against Kagami and curl up into his chest. "Didn't want my first time to be in a locker room with him," is the huffy admission into Kagami's neck. "Wanted it to be you. Can I call for a redo? When we aren't this tired, of course."

"_That_ was your-" Kagami's words trail into a growl. "Now I want to punch him even more, shit. No one's first time should be in a locker room. Jesus."

"No punching. That'll just make it worse." Kuroko buries his face into Kagami's shoulder. "Just a redo."

Kagami's hand comes up, gently splaying out across Kuroko's back. "It won't be the same," he promises quietly. "And if it is, I'll make it better. You can tell me what to do. I mean, not that I don't _know_, but….you know. Whatever you want."

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko lifts his head, just enough to stare up at him. "It wouldn't matter to me if it was the absolute worst in the world," he bluntly says. "But it _won't_ be, because it's Kagami-kun."

Kagami's voice sort of stops working, and he puts his whole hand on Kuroko's face, gently shoving him back. "You're going to give me a complex," he mutters, face bright red when he turns away. "We don't have to do that right away, though, right?" _I'd like to wait until I can stop thinking about his hands on you._

"We don't ever have to if you don't want to, though that seems unnecessarily cruel," is Kuroko's muffled response into Kagami's hand.

"Idiot. Of course I want to." Kagami hesitates, then removes his hand, replacing it with his lips for a brief second. "After the game, okay?"

That's a _much_ better kiss than those rough, heated ones from Aomine that completely took him by surprise. Kuroko nods slowly, and promptly curls himself into a ball once more against Kagami's chest. "After we win," he quietly amends. "But until then, can we sleep a lot?"

"I'm already mostly asleep," Kagami admits. "Come on, no one else is home so you can sleep in my bed. Or on the couch, if you want," he adds, not wanting to sound like he's planning something when all he's planning at the moment is how many alarm clocks he's going to need in the morning.

"Kagami-kun's bed sounds very good." Kuroko flops his arms around Kagami's neck, holding as tightly as he can manage right then. "Let's curl up and never move."

"Gotta move at five am," Kagami mutters, hauling Kuroko to the bedroom and setting his alarm to the loudest setting, then backing it up with his American cell phone. "My dad goes in for surgery at six, they need me to sign in case of any complications."

"Mm. I'll set my alarm, too." Kuroko somehow fishes it out of his pocket to do as much before flopping down bonelessly. "I hope your father will be okay."

"Me too." Kagami's throat locks up, and he flops down next to Kuroko. "I'm glad you're here," he mutters into the smaller boy's neck. "I know you only came because you wanted me back for the game, but I'm really glad I'm not alone tonight."

"… I came because I just wanted Kagami-kun back in general," Kuroko quietly says, and he wriggles closer, firmly latching himself to the other boy. "You shouldn't have to be alone, and I won't let you be."

Kagami opens his mouth to say something.

It's still open when he wakes up, alarms blaring at him from everywhere, making him wonder how the hell they'd all malfunctioned at once.

He grabs and dismisses them, stumbling out of bed and peeling off yesterday's clothes, almost falling over when he climbs into a fresh outfit and throws the old ones into the hamper. "Go back to sleep," he grunts, tugging a t-shirt over his head. "I'll be back around noon."

Kuroko sits up on instinct, hair in absolute and complete disarray and eyes rather glassy before he just sort of nods, tilting over and hitting the bed with a solid thump. "Good luck with the thing," he says, or tries to, his voice mostly muffled into a pillow.

Kagami barely remembers the drive to Kaiser Hospital, or the next several nerve-wracking hours. He sits in the waiting room for most of it, feeling vaguely guilty for how his mind turns immediately to Kuroko instead of to his father in the operating room. He's thought of nothing but his dad for days now, and it isn't as if thinking about him now is going to help, right?

He hopes not. Kuroko's lips are entirely too distracting for that. And he'd touched them. With his own lips, no less.

It's barely noon when he gets home, knocking on the bedroom door. "Oi, you up? I have news. And lunch."

Slowly, the door opens, and Kuroko blinks up at Kagami, still a little bleary-eyed and not quite awake. Close enough, though, especially when he focuses a bit more and tries to function among the world of the living. "Good news?" he hopefully says, and he stumbles out. Ah, jet lag on top of already not having any sleep is no fun at all.

Kagami drains the last of a massive coffee, tossing the cup into the garbage. "Surgery went great," he says with a grin. "He's got all the shrapnel out of his abdomen, and he even woke up for a little and told the nurse she had a nice ass. In Japanese, thank god. Here, I got you a vanilla shake and some coffee. It's _good_ coffee."

"Kagami-kun's father also sounds very American-but I'm very glad the surgery went well," Kuroko says, flopping down onto the couch as he gratefully accepts both drinks. Coffee first seems like a good choice, and one sip makes Kuroko's eyes widen. "… _That's_ coffee?" Huh. Maybe America does have a few perks.

"Yeah. Only stuff I drink. And it keeps you awake about a hundred times better than Japanese coffee." Kagami stretches out with a groan, flopping down next to Kuroko. "I still can't believe you're here. That's a really really long way to go because of a basketball game."

"The whole team pulled together to pay for the tickets." Kuroko takes another, long sip from his cup, and curls up around it protectively. "But… I would have wanted to come even if there wasn't a game."

Kagami snorts. "Even if you knew I was coming back in a few days? Jesus, Coach needs to update her phone, this isn't the first time one of my messages has gotten lost."

"Well… not if I had known you were coming back in a few days," Kuroko admits. "But I thought you had left because of me. The whole team did."

"I'm not that petty." Kagami flashes back to how Kuroko had looked, held up by Aomine's arms, trembling and satisfied against the lockers. "I'd just have punched him or something, not run off with my tail between my legs, shit."

"Mm. That's what I had wanted to think, but…" Kuroko shrugs. "I'm self-centered sometimes, I think. I'm sorry. I'm glad it was something else… not that your father got hurt like this, of course, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah." Something Kuroko had said occurs to him, and Kagami frowns. "What do you mean, everyone thought it was because of you? Does everyone know about you and Aomine?"

"No, not at all," Kuroko hastily dismisses. The thought makes him shudder a bit. "They just assumed… because nothing else really makes you upset like I do, apparently, and you left right after you came to find me for dinner."

Kagami breathes out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I was gonna be really pissed off if you told everyone but me. And that would have been kinda alarming, you know, for us after school."

"There wasn't anything to _tell_, anyway," Kuroko protests, frowning. "Not until the other day. I mean… in middle school, we had… a sort of thing, but it wasn't like… the locker room thing."

Kagami tries not to growl. "Yeah. I always figured there was _something_ back then, between the two of you. But….I mean, that doesn't matter to me. I've had things too, that's fine."

"Most people do." Kuroko finishes off his coffee with another, slow swallow, and promptly moves on to the milkshake. "I didn't think anything would ever happen again, though. I was sure Aomine-kun was through with me entirely, and that was fine. He had changed so much, after all."

"But he bumped your fist after the game," Kagami points out. "Is that what all that was about?"

"I thought maybe he wanted to be _friends_ again… for whatever that was worth, considering he's leaving in a couple of weeks," Kuroko says with a sigh. "What's the saying… 'too little, too late'?"

"Mmm, he got drafted into the NBA, right?" Kagami snorts. "He's gonna have a hard time adjusting to America. Hey, I have some free time this afternoon. When's your flight back?"

"Aomine-kun seems to think he's going to enjoy it." Kuroko takes a long sip from his shake. "And my flight leaves very early tomorrow morning."

Kagami droops over onto Kuroko's shoulder. "I swear I'll show you some stuff," he mumbles, "but maybe I need like….an hour of sleep first. Just while you drink your shake and stuff."

"It's fine, Kagami-kun." Kuroko leans his own head forward, gently butting it against the other boy's. "You can sleep. I don't mind."


	2. Chapter 2

Aomine can't sleep.

It's not exactly an unusual problem. He can rarely sleep through a night, though he usually manages to make it up and various points through the day, usually in class. This time, all he can see is Tetsu, red-faced and wriggling against him, arms clinging to him-

And worse, all he can see is back then.

He flings out an arm, grabbing for an old photo in his bedside drawer, rumpled and crumpled through the years but still clear enough to his eyes. The two of them in their Teiko sweaters, Kuroko sort of shyly perched on his lap, neither of them looking anywhere near the camera. It's a whole strip of photos, with Aomine trying to make him smile and Kuroko refusing for pure stubbornness until in the last one, he's obviously squeaking in surprise as Aomine kisses his neck.

It wasn't their first kiss, but it had been pretty close to the beginning.

_I thought I was close to another beginning. Shit, I thought we were starting something. _

Angry at himself and Kuroko and everyone he's ever met, Aomine grabs his phone, sending a text he knows won't get a reply. None of his others have.

_Tetsu, I'm leaving in three days. At least come say goodbye. Don't be a goddamn coward._

The quiet _ding_ of the text in question being received sounds outside of Aomine's front door, and Kuroko frowns down at his pocket, fishing out his phone.

He tries not to grimace.

This was probably a mistake. He should have just called Aomine and put an end to it that way. At the same time, though, that's so _impersonal_ that it makes Kuroko cringe. Aomine deserves better than that. He _was_ trying, after all; in his own way, and not in the best way, but still…

Kuroko sucks in a slow, quiet breath, and knocks on the door.

Aomine looks down at his phone, up at the door, down at his phone again, and shrugs. He knows Kuroko's knock as well as anyone's, and shit, if it took a magic text message to get him here, he'll take it.

His mouth widens in a slow, genuinely pleased grin as he opens the door, leaning against the frame. He looks Kuroko up and down, and lets out a sigh through his nose. "Shit, you're not allowed to look so good. Get in here, Mom's at work."

"… Aomine-kun, must you always say things like that?" Kuroko says with a long-suffering sigh, bowing his head as he steps inside and toes off his shoes. Honestly, Aomine wasn't that… _lecherous_ in middle school, was he? "I apologize for not calling or stopping by earlier, it's just been rather hectic lately…"

"It's fine." It _is_, so long as Tetsu's here. "I got leftovers. You want?"

"No, thank you." Kuroko sucks in a slow breath, bracing himself. "I really can't stay-I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, if you have the time."

"Eh, what else am I gonna do?" Aomine asks lazily, and shit, he really can't be blamed when Tetsu looks so cute. He grabs a handful of hair as gently as he can, crushing his mouth against the smaller boy's, unable to stop thinking about how sweet and warm he'd always tasted, thrilled when he tastes the same now.

"_Aomine-kun_-" This isn't talking. It absolutely isn't, and Kuroko wants to tell him as much.

It's sort of difficult, when Aomine kisses him like that.

Kuroko's hands immediately lift, lying flat against Aomine's chest with the _intention_ of pushing him away. Another protest catches in his throat, and his fingers curl instead, even as he rocks back on his heels to try and put distance between them. "This-" Kuroko's brow creases in annoyance when he finally pulls back, shoving a hand up into Aomine's face. "You're not letting me _talk_."

"I know," Aomine says with a grin, leaning down faster than Kuroko can block him to kiss him again. "It's a hell of a lot better than talking, right?" He slides a hand down Kuroko's waist, cupping his hip and drawing him in close. Ah, it's worth it-Tetsu would have _loved_ it last time if that idiot hadn't come in. He wouldn't have been thinking about who he wanted better, he'd just have been thinking about how _good_ they are together. By now, he's _got_ to realize. If not, Aomine will just have to make him get it.

Honestly, Kuroko _is_ annoyed.

He's annoyed with most things that Aomine does (and has done, for the past three, four years) but _this_ is the sort of thing that he can't quite find his voice to protest against. That's a _problem_. He came here to tell Aomine that he wasn't going to America with him, that he can't be involved with him, he just _can't_-

But the way Aomine grabs him is _nice_, and the way he kisses just makes Kuroko flush hot, and-

"… I'm so mad at you right now," is Kuroko's mumbling, breathless attempt at a protest.

"You're always mad about something," Aomine says with a grin, lifting Kuroko easily in his arms, kissing him deep and hard and hot as he staggers back to his bedroom. There's a narrow Western-style bed in the corner, and he flops them both down onto it, pressing Kuroko down into the mattress. He's hard enough to punch through a wall just having Kuroko under him, _willing_, knowing they're going to fuck and both excited about it. "I never brought you back here when we were dating, did I?" Aomine breathes in his ear, running the tip of his tongue up the outer shell.

This was definitely _not_ how he imagined their conversation going. It's a pity that Kuroko can't quite figure out how to make it _go_ the way he wanted it to.

Kuroko swallows hard, sagging back down into the bed and biting his lip hard to keep back a groan, his eyes fluttering and hands clutching tightly to Aomine's shoulders. His legs splay on their own accord, making room for Aomine's hips between them, and his stomach twists _pleasantly_ at feeling how hard Aomine is when he presses down against him. It really is _bad_ how quickly and how _hot_ Aomine riles his blood, Kuroko dimly thinks. "N..no," he whispers, voice catching in his throat, and he half-buries his face into Aomine's chest. "You didn't."

"Yeah, well, my mom didn't use to work nights." Aomine bends his neck, dragging his mouth along Kuroko's jawline, down to his shoulder, and shoves his shirt up under his arms, nipping and sucking at his chest and stomach. "Ahh, Tetsu, you're hotter than a girl. Shit, what do you even _do_ to me?" One hand comes up to lazily paw at Kuroko's thigh, sliding up to cover his cock with his palm, squeezing him gently through his pants.

"I don't-" Aomine's mouth isn't _fair_, not with how it makes his skin twitch and his muscles go taut. Kuroko arches up with a groan, his toes curling and hands digging into Aomine's back before he can think, clawing down the line of his spine as his hips twitch up into the palm of his hand. "I don't… _try_ to do anything," he attempts to protest, biting at his lip as he _does_ try to slide a hand up into Aomine's hair and tug to get his attention. "L-listen already, I wanted to _talk_ to you, not-" _Not do this again_.

"I'm listening."

Aomine yanks down Kuroko's pants, trailing the tip of his tongue down the center line of his abdomen, looking up with dark mischief in his eyes. "Here, I'll definitely shut up and listen. Say whatever you came here to say, I won't interrupt."

Then he seals his lips over the head of Kuroko's cock, sucking him in with a low moan.

Aomine is the _worst_.

Kuroko isn't proud of the way his mind goes blank, but there's no helping it, not when Aomine's mouth is so hot and slick and the slide of his tongue against his cock is _obscene_. A whine chokes in his own throat, a breathy groan after that, and Kuroko simply flops back, giving up.

He's a horrible person, too, when it comes down to it.

Aomine likes Kuroko this way. If he'd known all it would take to _get_ him would be a blowjob, he'd have done it a long time ago. Not like he gives a lot of them, but fuck, Tetsu's always been a good exception.

(Except Kise. No one counts Kise.)

He sucks hungrily, hands splayed on Kuroko's hips, dragging the flat of his tongue up and licking at the head. He doesn't really _mean_ to make those noises in his throat, and if his mouth weren't full, he'd wince at how slutty they sound.

If this is what all blowjobs are like, Kuroko is glad he's never had one before now. His mind is _too_ blank, everything is hot, he can't _think_-

His hips want to twitch up, but Aomine holds him down effortlessly, and all he can do is _squirm_. It's a good thing that Aomine _understands_, and just swallows him again, making Kuroko shudder and choke down a mewl, his head twisted to the side and pressed into a pillow as he grabs blindly at Aomine's hair.

"C-can't-" Kuroko doesn't like how weak he sounds, either, or how broken his voice is when he gasps out that single word. His cock _aches_, heat twisting in his belly and the muscles in his thighs bunching and taut. "Aomine-kun-" He wishes it sounded more like a protest again.

Aomine stops teasing.

He swallows Kuroko down all the way, eyes sliding shut as he groans low in his throat, letting the vibrations ripple around Kuroko's cock. He doesn't even have to dig in his hands _hard_, not when Kuroko's so wriggly and weak like this. All he has to do is suck, swirling his tongue around, not even sure if you're supposed to actually _suck_ but hell, it had felt good when Kise did it, so why not give it a shot-

He forces himself to look up, eyes locked on Kuroko as he sucks. God, no one looks better getting blown than Tetsu.

It just seems so messy and lewd and… _wrong_-but-

There really isn't any help for it, not when Aomine does _that_, when his breath is ripped from his lungs with every suck and lick and looking _down_ is the worst (best) part, because Aomine's lips are wrapped around him, and Kuroko can feel his cock just _throb_ against the other boy's tongue.

Kuroko muffles his groan into the pillow, wrenching his eyes away, shuddering as he gives in, stomach and thigh muscles tight and trembling as he comes _hard_. He _means_ to warn Aomine, he really does, but he can't breathe, let alone talk, and the thought of just filling Aomine's mouth like this makes him come even harder.

If it were anyone else, they'd _definitely_ get punched for doing that without a warning.

With Kuroko-well, Aomine had sort of _wanted_ him to, even if he doesn't want to admit it, and he swallows slowly, trying not to look like he's interested, intrigued by the taste and texture by it. Or rather, lack thereof.

He pulls off finally, releasing Kuroko's dick with a wet _pop_, and grins. "I should have known you wouldn't taste like anything, Tetsu."

Kuroko manages a breathless moan in response, his face flushed hot as he lifts it from the pillow. Rather than look at Aomine, tossing an arm over his face to _hide_ is a lot better. "S… still mad at you," he whispers after a moment, chest heaving.

Aomine snorts. "Nah, you're not. You never were, right? You're just mad I'm so good." He pulls off his shirt, scooting up to wrap his arms around Kuroko's body and pull him close against the heat of his chest. "Hey, I have a hot idea."

"No, I'm mad. One hundred percent," Kuroko mumbles in a sort of pathetic attempt at protesting, even as his breath hitches at the slide of Aomine's bare skin against his own. A slight wriggle reminds him of how _hard_ Aomine still is, and Kuroko tries not to shudder-and fails. "…What idea?" He feels sort of powerless to resist asking that question, especially when his hands slowly creep their way up Aomine's sides, unable to stop from _touching_.

Aomine laughs low and dark, white teeth nipping at Kuroko's shoulder. "You're thinking about how it felt inside you last time, right?" he breathes, sliding up to rub slowly against Kuroko's hip. "How big and hard it felt in your ass when it made you come all over yourself, yeah?" God, he's gonna die of blood loss to the brain at this rate.

He's a terrible liar, and lying about that would be useless, anyway. Kuroko barely nods all the same, his face twisting away to bury back into that pillow. "It was… really too much," he whispers, voice ragged at the edges. _I'm angry, I'm angry, I'm angry, I'm-_ "Aomine-kun should at least be more careful."

"You're a big boy. You can take it." Aomine steals another long kiss, reaching a hand down to stroke himself slowly. He's so hard he can feel the blood pumping against his hand, and his breath comes out in a slow, tight hiss. "If you want me to be more gentle, you should look more delicate." He rolls to the side, grabbing something an old girlfriend had left at his house, dropping it on Kuroko's face. "Put that on."

Kuroko blinks up through something decidedly _sheer_, and his face burns when he fully process what it is. "Aomine-kun is the worst pervert," he mutters, throwing the bunched up stockings right back at him. "I'm not wearing that."

Aomine laughs. Then he simply grabs one ankle, holding it way above Kuroko's head, and starts rolling one of the stockings down it. "I've got a cute little dress you can wear, too," he teases, shifting so the head of his cock rubs against Kuroko's thigh, holding him tightly. "You'd look so damn cute-shit, look how hard you're making my dick."

"I'm definitely not wearing a dress," Kuroko hisses, and he's annoyed, for the first time in awhile, about his lack of strength. It's not easy to free himself from Aomine's hold, and he really isn't fond of how his cock twitches in response to feeling how hard Aomine's cock is, especially when it rubs against the pale expanse of his thigh not covered by sheer, clinging black. "Aomine-kun, _quit it_-"

Aomine considers for a moment.

"Nah."

He slides the other stocking down over the other leg, holding them there with a hand on each thigh. "You look fucking hot, Tetsu," he breathes, rubbing up a little farther until they're touching, sliding slowly against each other. "If you ride me I won't put a dress on you."

"I'll bite you if you try to put a dress on me," Kuroko threatens. At least, he _thinks_ it's a threat. He's not quite sure, not when the idea of riding Aomine's cock is actually stupidly, annoyingly arousing, and a glance down at it, how it drips over his belly and leaves his breath hitching raggedy, makes him actually consider the offer. "I don't… know if I can." Or how, or-anything. Ah, he's dizzy.

"Oh, no. A Tetsu bite. Really scary."

Aomine rolls over onto his back, running his hands up and down, feeling the sweet firm flesh of his thighs. "God, you're getting me going so hard," he groans, folding his hands back behind his head. "You can do it, don't be so weak. If you can beat Touou, you can definitely ride my dick, right?"

Kuroko wobbles, his hands sliding up to brace against Aomine's chest. "Beating Touou seems easier," he snidely jabs, though he swallows around the dryness of his throat all the same as his hips slide back, the hard line of Aomine's cock sliding up the cleft of his ass. He huffs out a soft breath, his head tipping forward and hair swaying after it. "Do you at least have something we can use? Last time was a little…"

God, even Tetsu looking the slightest bit eager is almost enough to make Aomine come. He reaches out, one long arm snagging the lotion he uses when he's alone, handing it off to Kuroko instead of putting it on himself. "Come on," he murmurs, looking up at Kuroko through half-closed eyes. "Show me what you've always wanted to do with my dick."

Kuroko opens his mouth to say something about a condom, maybe, please? But there's no hope for it, really, not when he _knows_ Aomine would just laugh and brush off the idea. His fingers shake a little around the bottle, and his mind loops irritatingly on the fact that he's this _hard_, that his legs are wrapped up in girls' stockings and what _has_ he wanted to do with Aomine's cock? His mind doesn't really linger on those thoughts, but far more the idea of just-doing-_anything_ with him-

His fingers still shake when they're slick and reaching back, wrapping around Aomine's cock with a ragged exhale of breath. He's _hot_ in Kuroko's grasp, hard enough that he's sure it has to be hurting, and Kuroko's eyes lid, lips parting as he drags his hand from root to tip, hesitantly lingering around the head of Aomine's cock where he's already dripping. "I still don't know how you even managed to get it inside last time." His voice drops off at the end, and he can't help but flush hot. "You're… I'm _normal_ sized, you know."

Aomine's laugh is a bit more gentle this time, and he reaches up to hold Kuroko by the hips. He kind of _wants_ to just drop him down, make him take all of it in one go, but no, he has to be better than that if he's gonna get Tetsu to stick around afterwards. "Go slow," he says instead, starting to lower him gently down-a really, really good thing he has a lot of muscle strength and no problem lifting Kuroko no matter what angle he's at. "And breathe. Breathe a _lot_. Or I can just drop you down and you can get it all over with, eh? Then it'll all be inside you, thick and hard and-_shit_, Tetsu, why are you still so fucking _tight_?"

"Because Aomine-kun-" _Is too much, too big, far too much and I can't-_

And yet he _is_, no matter how his body protests, and his hands desperately move to grab at Aomine's arms, squeezing and clawing as his body _sags_ with the first, aching _press_ of Aomine's cock against and into him. Kuroko's legs tremble, thighs quivering as his chest heaves from the effort (breathing, breathing, he can do breathing), and his mouth goes slack as his hips twitch down a bit on their own accord, even more of Aomine stuffing him full, reminding him so vividly of being pressed into those lockers, aching and hurting and harder than he has ever remembered being.

Kuroko doesn't whimper, but he _does_ whine, low and throaty. "Just… put all of it in already," he whispers, eyes squeezing shut. "Just make me take it."

God, Aomine wishes he had a recording of that moment. He'd never need porn again, just watch that little clip over and over again until he was dead of blood and fluid loss. He groans, grabbing Kuroko's hips and yanking him down hard, burying himself completely inside the sweet hot tightness that is the smaller boy. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he pants, hips lurching up even more, trying to slam in deeper when there's nowhere else to go. "Fuck, you feel so good, _fuck_-"

Kuroko doesn't know _how_ he manages to keep his voice down. Maybe it's because he can't _breathe_ when Aomine is buried inside of him at this angle, when he feels even bigger than last time, when it feels like Aomine is shoved up even _deeper_ inside of him, making everything cramp and ache and ah, god, his own cock is so hard again that it almost feels like he never came before. Kuroko's hands scrabble for purchase, giving up moments later to fall over Aomine's at his hips, nails biting into his wrists. "Aomine-kun-" _Can't do this, can't move, it's too much._ "Please-" He swallows hard, legs shaking, bowing forward as he shivers, his body a tense, twitching thing around Aomine's cock. "Help…"

"Should have known better."

Aomine lunges up, slamming Kuroko down onto his back, grabbing his legs and hoisting them up, folding Kuroko almost in half as he sinks in deep. "Knew you couldn't take it all," he teases, skin crackling, electricity racing down his spine as if he's in the Zone. "Tetsu needs me to do this for him, right?"

He mouths a hard kiss to Kuroko's shoulder, his neck, marking him up, wanting everyone to _see_ that someone's used Tetsu hard. "Don't worry, I've got you. It's always gonna be better with us."

Kuroko can't even think to argue right then.

He's not sure he'd be able to argue even if he was in his right mind, not with Aomine's cock deep inside of him, spreading him wide and leaving him trembling, _aching_ when Aomine shoves in so hard and deep that his breath hiccups and his vision sparks white. His head lolls back, hands clawing up Aomine's back to fist into his hair, leaving scratch marks in his wake, and Kuroko _whines_, stupidly, painfully aroused by the way those stockings ride down to his knees, bunched and stretched and torn by Aomine's grabbing hands.

He's just as bad as Aomine-no, _worse_, even.

"God-"

Aomine fucking loses it.

His hand are too rough on Kuroko's _everything_, but he can't help it. His voice is too loud, and he doesn't care. He's way, way too fast and hard and deep, thrusting into Kuroko without any care for anything but his own pleasure, slamming in again and again as he snarls and growls and holds Kuroko down so hard he hopes he doesn't _break_ anything, and he _still_ doesn't care.

With a desperate hitch of breath, Aomine really loses it, hips snapping forward as he buries himself as deep as he can get, nonsense words on his lips and a hint of blood in his mouth from biting too hard, spilling deep inside Kuroko with a last, ragged thrust.

And he's really not sorry.

Kuroko feels himself arch with a broken gasp for air when Aomine comes, spilling hot and slick inside of him. It _stings_, something he's sure he'd be more upset about if he wasn't aching everywhere else already, feeling bruises on top of bruises and odd, throbbing pains on his neck and shoulders where Aomine's teeth have set in.

He thinks, for right now at least, that he likes it.

He wriggles weakly, his cock grinding up against the hard plane of Aomine's stomach, and that's all that it _takes_ when he's so tightly wound and trembling. Kuroko _melts_ when he comes, barely making a sound and simply sagging into the mattress, shivering all over and limp within Aomine's hold.

Aomine slumps over, crushing Kuroko a bit with his weight, unable to even roll away. "Mmmhm." That's about as much sense as he wants to make right now, what with how sort of….liquidy he feels.

"Heavy," is Kuroko's muffled rasp into Aomine's shoulder, though he doesn't sound _too_ annoyed by it, no matter how every muscle in his body feels like jello. He _does_ take that opportunity to bite, however. "Aomine-kun is the worst."

Aomine laughs. He hefts himself up on his arms, then slowly rolls to the side, draping an arm around Kuroko to pull him close. "But that's why you love me."

Kuroko's eyes lid. The fact that he has just slept with Aomine again instead of telling him that he isn't interested is like a smack to the face, and Kuroko wonders if he can just never get up and possibly die here. "You never let me talk about what I wanted to earlier."

"No shit. You were gonna turn me down."

"… I still am."

Aomine grunts. "Good thing I got you to do this first, then, huh?"

Kuroko bites again, and _hard_. "I'm _really_ mad at you now."

"Why?" Aomine demands, leaning down to return bite for bite. "I didn't do anything you didn't want me to. Don't lie."

"I-" Kuroko tries glaring at him instead of biting him. "I didn't have any of this in mind. You can't possibly think any of this is a good idea, or _healthy_. If you knew I was going to turn you down, why would you want to sleep with me again?"

Aomine laughs aloud at that, head thrown back. "_Why_?" he asks, incredulous. "Fuck, Tetsu, because I wanted to fuck you! I _always_ want to fuck you, shit, I knew you were going to break it off and I wanted one last ride."

"… When you say things like that, Aomine-kun, please don't ever wonder why I don't want to be with you," Kuroko quietly says, and he shifts away, kicking weakly to dislodge the stockings entirely.

"Aw, don't _be_ like that," Aomine groans, grabbing at Kuroko's ass. "What, you want me to tell you a bunch of sappy bullshit when you came over here all startstruck for that redheaded idiot's dick? So you can leave and be like, 'oh, yeah, I totally could have had him if I wanted, now back to my boring safe boyfriend'?"

"I _want_ you to be a decent person!" Kuroko suddenly snaps, twisting to slap Aomine's hand away. "Maybe if you had actually talked to me, or… _anything_ rather than just throw me into your bed, I would have changed my mind."

His legs shake when he throws them over the side of the bed, and he barely manages to keep himself upright. "I've been waiting for years for you to prove me wrong, Aomine-kun."

_It's too late._

Aomine hears the words as clearly as if Kuroko had spoken them, and he deflates a bit, knowing that this time, it's really true. Wordlessly, he stands, helping Kuroko to his feet, gathering his clothes and handing them over. It had seemed like a good idea, that even if Kuroko had turned him down, hey, it was just sex.

If he'd known Kuroko had wanted….

Ah, who cares? It's too late.

"Let me get you a cab."

"No, thank you, I'll do it myself." Kuroko manages to dress somehow-probably out of sheer stubbornness, honestly-and shakily claws his way to the door. There's no helping the marks on his neck and… _everywhere_. Maybe he can lock himself in his room for a few days and they won't look so awful. "I hope you have a safe flight, Aomine-kun."

"Yeah. Whatever. Maybe I'll send you a ticket to a game." _Maybe I'll just try to pretend I never knew you._

"Please don't." Kuroko shuts the door behind himself before he can hear Aomine's retort-if he even has one. No matter what it is, Kuroko knows now that it won't be anything he wants to hear.

Kagami has been spending _way_ too much time in hospital waiting rooms lately.

He misses his car in Tokyo, can't drive like a bat out of hell when he gets a call from a businesslike Japanese woman, informing him that his friend Kuroko is in the hospital and would like to see him, please. A taxi is good enough, and Kagami terrifies everyone in the waiting room when he storms inside, trying not to think that Kuroko's going to die, that he's going to look as bad as his father had, that they're going to take him into surgery and he'll come out with reconstructive casts everywhere if he even comes out at _all_-

"Kuroko Tetsuya," he snaps to the first person to listen to him. "He called me, I need to see him!"

It doesn't help his emotions when they take him to Intensive Care. By the time the door opens and he sees Kuroko looking chewed up and spat out, wan and pale and more like a ghost than he's ever seen, hooked up to a dozen monitors, Kagami's heart is thudding painfully against his chest. "Kuroko! What the hell?" he demands, running over to grab his hand. At least he's conscious, and alive.

Kuroko blinks up at him, vision still a little blurry around the edges. For the most part, though, he's just quite tired. It has certainly been one of those days. "I'm very sorry to have to call you and make you come out all this way, Kagami-kun. I didn't really want my parents to know…"

"Know _what_?" Kagami asks, squeezing his hand a little more than he'd meant to. Kuroko is _freezing_ to the touch, and Kagami chafes his hand gently between his own. "Jesus, you look awful. Of _course_ you should call me, idiot! What happened, did you get attacked?"

"Ah, no. I nearly drowned, at the shrine."

"You-"

Kagami stares, and sits slowly down, never letting go of Kuroko's hand. "You-what the fuck, Kuroko?" There are so many questions he doesn't know where to start.

"Mm." Kuroko flops his head back, giving Kagami's hand a faint, absent squeeze. "I went to the shrine to be purified. They held me under the water a bit too long, I think, and so I nearly drowned." He pauses, glancing over at the other boy. "I'm now a pure and unsullied virgin again, by the way."

"You know," Kagami says slowly, eyes fixed on Kuroko's face, "I'd expected that explanation to clear stuff up, not make me more confused."

"… But it should have cleared quite a bit up. They had to resuscitate me and everything, that's why I'm here. Ah," Kuroko mildly adds, "I did forget to mention that I went to tell Aomine-kun I wasn't going to go with him to America beforehand."

Kagami's eyes flicker down, and for the first time he takes notice of the shape of some of those bruises and welts. Slowly, his hands drop down to his own lap. "Oh, yeah? How'd that go?"

Kuroko hesitates, his eyes flicking to the side briefly. "Not very well. Aomine-kun… is always difficult to deal with."

"So you slept with him. Again." Kagami tries not to feel hurt. He tries not to feel angry. Neither are very successful. "After you said you wanted to be with me. And we kissed."

"I didn't mean to." That's the truth, for sure, though it comes out sounding hollow. "And I'm never, _ever_ doing it again. I don't want to be with him and I told him to go away and not to talk to me again." Kuroko looks down, his hands curling into his own lap. "I really did just want to talk to him," he quietly adds. "Mostly… I wanted to give him one last chance to be a good person. He proved that I've been right all along, and that he isn't someone I'd ever want to be with."

"So you know he's a bad person," Kagami says quietly, hands balling up into fists against his legs. His shoulders are so tense they hurt, and it's all he can do not to run out and punch Aomine's stupid face-but then, Aomine had never made him any promises, had he? "And you don't want to be with him. And you just wanted to talk. But you still slept with him? You….you let him make those marks on you."

"I didn't _mean_ to," Kuroko weakly repeats, worriedly lifting his head. "Nor did I particularly want to. Aomine-kun just… he has a way of making things happen. I'm really sorry, Kagami-kun."

Kagami feels cold, and oddly uncomfortable, and like he wants to run away and punch someone and lay down for a while. "You know, in America, if someone makes you have sex when you don't want to, that's rape. Even if it's two guys."

"… I think that's a little extreme, Kagami-kun." Kuroko heaves a long, tired sigh. "Even though I'm never letting him touch me ever again."

"Yeah. Like you said last time." Kagami doesn't mean for it to come out so bitter. He stands, raking a hand back through his hair. "This can't be a thing. If we're gonna be a thing. So maybe we shouldn't be a thing."

Something like panic immediately washes over Kuroko's face, and the monitors start bleeping all over again. "It's _not_ going to be a thing. It wasn't ever a thing. I just-Aomine-kun has always confused me, and made things difficult," he desperately tries. "I never wanted to be a _thing_ with him. That wasn't what I've thought about at _all_ for the past three years; that's been _you_."

The fact that turning Kuroko down is apparently going to kill him makes Kagami sit down _fast_. He grabs for Kuroko's hand, eyes wild. "It's okay, it's okay, calm down! I'm just-I don't get why you said you want me and keep being with him instead, that's all!"

The monitors still keep going a little irregularly, right in time with the way his heart thuds hard against his chest. "I didn't want to keep being with him," Kuroko miserably says. "I told you, it wasn't supposed to happen. And it's _never_ going to happen again, I'll… I'll punch him in the dick if he tries." The last bit is sort of mumbled, but no less resolute.

That at least drags a snort of laughter out of Kagami. "I'd pay to see that." He leans over after a second, cupping Kuroko's cheek in one hand. "I mean it," he says quietly. "That's not….something I'd ever be okay with, okay? If you want us to be a thing, you can't do that. With anyone. Call me old-fashioned and boring if you want, I don't like to share. Especially not before we're even _together_, shit." Even though he'd kind of thought they were together, after those confessions and the kisses and the last game.

Kuroko leans into the touch, half-burying his face into Kagami's hand. "I don't want to share you, either," he quietly says. "And I don't want to be shared. I just want to be yours. That's why I went to the shrine. Do-over."

"Do-over?" Kagami asks, incredulously. "This isn't like getting a free throw for getting fouled, you know. When you mess up, there are consequences. That's why you've still got all those bruises." He hesitates, then squeezes Kuroko's hand. "It means a lot to me that you wanted to, though."

"I was hoping a god or something would take pity on me and make those go away," Kuroko wistfully confides. "I prayed to all of them. It didn't work. But at least I tried. I wish Aomine-kun would go and get dunked in the shrine's spring and have a near-death experience, it might be good for him."

Kagami tries to stay mad. He _tries_. Then he sighs, letting his head thunk slowly against Kuroko's. "Can we be dating now?" he asks, a little forlorn. "I want all this shit to be over. I just want to go eat together and make out and not worry that you're going to wind up in bed with someone else or dead at a shrine."

"I wanted to be dating almost… three years ago, so yes," Kuroko says unabashedly. "And I won't die or anything else that's bad. I'd like to sleep in your bed, though."

"You just like how soft my bed is," Kagami mutters, color rushing to his cheeks. "When do you get out of here? I really hate hospitals."

"I think they want to observe me for another hour or something, to make sure I'm not going to die of hypothermia. I feel quite well, though, so I think that's unnecessary…"

"You almost _died_, idiot," Kagami snarls. "Let them keep you for as long as they want, so you don't fall down on me when I take you home!"

Kuroko blinks up at him slowly. "But I want to fall down. And sleep in Kagami-kun's big, soft, squishy bed that is also very warm when he is in it."

Kagami stares at him. "How do you know about how my bed feels?" he demands. "This is my Japanese bed, I'd definitely know if you've been in it with me!"

"I'm just guessing." Kuroko looks a bit troubled. "Is it not soft and squishy? These are requirements in our new apartment."

"Why do we have to get a new apartment?" Kagami asks, looking away so maybe Kuroko won't see the color in his face. "My apartment should be fine, right? My dad's like, never ever home. You'll have to see how soft and squishy it is for yourself, it's by a different maker than the one in L.A."

Kuroko tilts his head back, thoughtful. "… Your apartment should be fine," he agrees. "I just wasn't sure if that would be okay with you, or him. But as long as your bed is nice, I approve."

"Dumbass," Kagami mutters. "We'll never find a place as nice near both the schools we're going to. Wherever you decide to go, you know. I heard you got into the University of Tokyo."

"Has Kagami-kun decided where he is going yet?" Kuroko neutrally asks in response. Really, it would have been far too much to expect Kagami's acceptance to a college like that, no matter long hours of tutoring, and with that in mind, Kuroko is fairly certain he doesn't want to go there at all.

"I got in to a few," Kagami says first, defensively. "I got in to Tokyo Metropolitan, that's one of the ten best in the country. They don't have any good sports programs, though, so I sent my acceptance to Tokyo International. They also have a lot of good options for if I want to go home for a semester or something."

"Then I'll go there, too." His father won't be as pleased about it, but whatever. "We'll save money if we're going to the same place, after all."

"Eh? How?" Kagami rolls his eyes, then admits, "I guess if you don't want to do anything too strenuous after school there's no reason to kill yourself getting good grades at the best school in the country, but still….University of Tokyo would look really nice on your resume, you know."

"I'd rather go to the same school Kagami-kun is going to," Kuroko patiently says. "Even if another school looks better on my resume. Besides, for what I want to do, it's less about the resume and more about people skills, and I am fairly certain I am a delight."

Kagami snorts, but he can't deny the idea of having Kuroko next to him on the commute, let alone helping him with his homework, warms him a lot. "Just don't say I forced you into it later," he grumbles. "And I'll help coach you for every interview, so you'll definitely ace them."

"I'm not sure someone so American should help me with my interviews."

"What was that, you basta-"

Before Kagami can finish insulting him (or grab his head), the doctor comes in, giving Kagami such a cold stare he snatches back his hand immediately. "Mr. Kuroko, you're free to go. Do you need any assistance home?"

"I'll help him," Kagami volunteers immediately, and the doctor nods.

"Very well. See the front desk about your insurance and payments."

"I should call my parents and let them know I'm going to stay with you tonight…" Kuroko murmurs, slowly twisting to sling his legs over the side of the bed. Ah. Everything is still sort of wobbly, and he debates flopping back over. "Drowning isn't fun, by the way."

Kagami gets an arm around his waist, squeezing him tightly. "Just lean on me. And don't drown again, idiot. Are your parents gonna be mad to see this on your insurance?"

Kuroko shakes his head, wobbling as he unclips the heart monitor. "I'll just tell them I got run over. It sort of looks like that, anyway."

"Don't be stupid, then there's a billion questions about who hit you, and the police will get called," Kagami growls. "Just tell them you tripped over a branch in the park and fell into a pond. That explains scratches and bruises and drowning."

"That also sounds very like me," Kuroko agrees, and makes a grabbing gesture in the direction of his clothes. "Kagami-kun is very smart sometimes."

Kagami doesn't mention a friend from middle school in America, who'd needed a lot of excuses to tell her parents about where she'd gotten all those bruises, or how that story had ended. "You're an idiot. Come on, I want to get you home to bed, even if it's my bed."

"I like beds," Kuroko rather dazedly agrees. Ah, he's going to sleep forever. Or at least a solid 12 hours, if he can help it.

Checking out of the hospital with Kuroko clinging to him half-conscious isn't too hard. Getting him through the trains is impossible, so Kagami forks out the money for a taxi again, grumbling to an unlistening Kuroko about the expense.

Back at his apartment, he dumps Kuroko into the bed, leaving him there to start cleaning up before he wakes. It's not _too_ bad, but jet lag has been kicking his ass for the last couple weeks, and with finals, he just hasn't felt much like cleaning.

After that (and cooking a bit because cleaning always gives him an appetite), he falls into bed. It's a little strange, sleeping in the same bed as Kuroko when they're supposedly dating now, but as long as they both keep their clothes on he shouldn't have to worry too much about freaking the other boy out.

_Not that he'd be freaked out, _a little voice whispers. _Not when he lets Aomine do whatever he wants to him, all the time._

Kagami tells the voice to shut the fuck up, and promptly closes his eyes, trying to sleep.

Kuroko stirs, slowly rolling to the side to flop an arm and a leg over Kagami. Quickly realizing that the other boy is more akin to a furnace than anything else, Kuroko slowly wriggles closer, eventually ending up simply on top of him and curled into a tiny ball on his chest.

"This bed is good, too," he says, voice muffled into Kagami's shoulder, "but you make a much better pillow, Kagami-kun."

Kagami's hands come up automatically, arms squishing Kuroko tight to his chest. "Then sleep on me. You're freezing, god."

"No, Kagami-kun is just like a kotatsu all the time."

"Dumbass. A kotatsu's only good if you've got covers over." Kagami wriggles around, finding another blanket and draping it over both of them. "And you're supposed to be _under_ it."

Kuroko wriggles underneath the blanket, eventually only poking his head out enough that his eyes are peering down at Kagami. "This is pretty close. You could roll over and squish me, though, I wouldn't mind."

"Stop it," Kagami mutters, squashing Kuroko tighter against his chest. "You're not allowed to be cute like that. I'm gonna kiss you or something."

"Aren't we boyfriends now?" Kuroko says, though his voice is a little breathy from how tightly he's squeezed. "You're allowed to do that whenever you want."

Kagami's breath hitches, and he looks down at Kuroko. "Are we?" he asks quietly. "Like, for real? Because I thought we were last time."

"… For real." Kuroko's chin sets itself upon Kagami's chest, his eyes lidding. "I meant for it to be real last time, but… Aomine-kun is-_was_," he firmly corrects, "just good at messing with me. I'm not going to ever let him have that kind of power over me ever again. The only person I've wanted for the past three years is you, and… I'm sorry about all the things with Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun."

It's _hard_ to stay mad at Kuroko, when he has eyes like that. It's harder when he never _wanted_ to be mad at Kuroko in the first place, when he's really only angry at Aomine, and when all he wants is Kuroko curled up on top of him like this. "Hey, it never happened, right? You got all that sex drowned out of you."

Relief makes Kuroko sag down into Kagami's chest, and he nods resolutely. "I nearly died to make sure I was pure and unsullied again. It definitely never happened."

"Oi, you _really_ didn't need to do that," Kagami mutters. "I'd have still taken you if you didn't do all that crazy shit. I mean, you'd still want me if I slept with someone else before we got together, right?"

"Mm, of course I would. But it was the circumstances more than anything that made me angry." Kuroko frowns. "I didn't plan on it happening like that, and I wanted my first time to be with you."

"Well, now it can be." Kagami hesitates, then promises, "And it's going to be the best first time ever. Whenever you want. Hey, when do you want to move in?"

"I knew that already, because it's Kagami-kun." Kuroko slinks down underneath the blanket a bit more, using it as a shield to hide the faint flush that washes over his face. "I can probably move in as early as next week…"

Kagami pulls the blanket back a bit, and kisses Kuroko's hair. Yeah, being able to do that all the time definitely sounds good. "Good. Your parents okay with it? Have you asked them?"

Kuroko firmly butts his head up underneath Kagami's chin, hiding his smile against the other boy's skin. "I might have already mentioned that I want to move out and get an apartment with that loud American friend of mine."

"Why do you always call me that?" Kagami growls, tightening his arms until he hears a squeak.

"Because Kagami-kun is loud and American," is the additional squeak to follow.

"Well, sometimes you're too Japanese!"

"Only a foreigner would say that."

Kagami rolls over, pinning Kuroko down to the bed. "You're going to get squashed," he informs him, and instead, leans down to give him a long, firm kiss.

Being squashed is just fine if it's like this.

Kuroko sighs out a soft breath through his nose, flopping his arms about Kagami's shoulders to pull him down as his lips part, teeth tentatively nipping into the other boy's lower lip. Kagami really _is_ warm. He could get very used to this-no, he _wants_ to (maybe needs to).

This is the kind of kiss Kagami's been _hoping_ for.

He groans into Kuroko's mouth, sort of stunned at how fast a simple thing like a kiss affects him, his whole body gone tingling and hot under the skin, blood rushing around like it has no business doing, attempting to embarrass him.

He pulls away after a long minute, with a last soft peck. He kind of wants to ask where Kuroko learned all that, but more than that, wants to be the one he teaches. "You're _really_ good at kissing."

Kuroko blinks up at him, slow and languid, and squeezes his arms around Kagami's shoulders to pull him right back down. "So is Kagami-kun," he simply says, absently rubbing his nose against Kagami's. "We can do that whenever you want."

"Then," Kagami says quietly, nuzzling back, eyes gazing down at Kuroko's, "we're gonna do it a lot. And after you move in, we're gonna do a lot of things a lot."

"I like things, especially when they're done a lot," Kuroko says very seriously, and he leans up to give Kagami's lower lip another, gentle nibble. "My mother says I should cook for you. I'm sorry, but I hope you like boiled eggs."

"They give me gas," Kagami says with a shrug. "Why does she think you should cook for me? Everyone knows I'm a better cook. Does she think you're going to be my housewife or something?"

"No, my mother just thinks I should help take care of things. I'm better at it than my sisters, at any rate; they're all _pharmacists_."

"You can do the cleaning," Kagami offers generously. "I hate cleaning. And pharmaceuticals."

"I like cleaning. I'm very good at cleaning. Not so much pharmaceuticals, though."

"Good. Then that's settled." Kagami kisses the tip of Kuroko's nose. "Just show up whenever and move in. Or let me know first and I'll help you."

"… Kagami-kun is already a very good boyfriend," Kuroko softly says, his eyes lidding. "I might need you to lift a box. I don't have many, though; mostly just books."

Kagami rolls his eyes. "I'll just come to your place and get all the boxes. Oh, hey, that reminds me." He rolls off the bed, disappearing into the living room for a second before coming back with a shiny new brass key, and tosses it to Kuroko. "You'll need this. I put your name on the mail slot, too."

Kuroko blinks, flushes, and slowly slithers back underneath the blanket until it covers his face entirely as well. "Kagami-kun sometimes can be very embarrassing, though."

"Yeah. I'm American that way," Kagami says with a yawn, dropping down to squash Kuroko again. "Nothing to be done, I guess."

"I'll keep you anyway," is the muffled response from underneath blankets and Kagami's weight.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagami had _intended_ to keep their relationship a secret, at least a bit. He hadn't intended to run into Himuro at the closing ceremonies of Nationals, or how odd it had looked to see him outside basketball clothes after so long, or how easily Himuro would guess _relationship_ from hearing that he and Kuroko are rooming together now. From then, it's just polite to invite him over for a housewarming dinner, though he forgets to mention it to Kuroko until he's cooking enough for three. Well, enough for ten, but most of it's for himself. "Oi, by the way," he calls, slicing up an eggplant, "we have company tonight. Tatsuya's coming for dinner."

"Tatsuya?" The name doesn't quite click for a moment (Kuroko still occasionally blames the drowning thing for being a bit absent-minded as of late), but when it does, Kuroko sits back, blinking. "Ah. Himuro-kun. It's been quite awhile." He side-eyes Kagami. "You told him things, didn't you."

"I didn't tell him anything! Just that you were moving in, and he kinda...guessed." Kagami scowls. "It's fine, he's way more American than me, he doesn't care."

"Mm. If you say so." It still doesn't make Kuroko entirely comfortable with the idea, but it's slightly better.

The reservations don't disappear by the time Himuro arrives. Kuroko answers the door, expression as neutral as ever, and he rocks back onto his heels as Himuro steps inside. "Yo, Taiga," he greets, toeing off his shoes. "Did you know your toaster was outside?"

"It's thinking about what it did," is Kuroko's low retort. Himuro blinks.

"It what?" Kagami turns his head, about to give Himuro the kind of one-handed bro-hug he remembers so well, giving Kuroko a funny look on the way. "You tried to make toast? That's the most cooking you've ever tried to do. Tatsuya, man, good to see you."

"Stuck doing all the cooking as usual-didn't I warn you against a relationship like that?" Himuro teases. He idly reaches forward, curling his fingers around the ring that still dangles on a chain about Kagami's neck. "Still wearing this and you've never invited me over until now?"

"There wasn't a reason to!" Kagami argues, giving Himuro a playful shove-punch in the shoulder. "Not like your place in L.A., man, that was a piece of work. Kuroko, you should have _seen_ the setup this guy had."

"Mm. I'm sure it was very nice."

"Do you ever sort of lose track of him?" Himuro mildly inquires, casting a glance over to Kuroko. "It seems like it would be like living with a ghost."

Kagami gives Kuroko a fond little smile, moving back to the kitchen and tying on his apron. "You get used to it. I keep meaning to put a bell on him, though."

"I would make an effort to learn how to move without letting it ring," Kuroko matter-of-factly says.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Himuro mutters, shaking his head as he leans back against the kitchen counter. "So, you're going to Tokyo International, right? You'll make their team for sure-"

Kuroko doesn't make much of an attempt to stop Nigou from bounding out of the bedroom, sitting in the kitchen, and staring holes into Himuro's soul. "… And you have a dog," Himuro deadpans.

"That's our son." Kuroko regrets nothing.

"Hey! I told you to stop saying that!" Kagami growls, nudging the dog with his toe and only breaking out into a little bit of a sweat. "He's _not_ allowed in the kitchen, all he does is beg and try to trip me."

"Take responsibility, Kagami-kun. I saw you spoiling our son by giving him scraps the other night."

Himuro's eyebrows raise. "… Taiga, I thought you were terrified of dogs."

"I just don't like them," Kagami mutters, wiping a few beads of sweat off his forehead, turning resolutely back to his eggplants. "You kind of get used to this one, though. He used to be really small, that helped."

He turns to Kuroko, brandishing the chef's knife. "I was just trying to make him stop whining. You said you'd teach him to stop whining when I cook!" He's trying not to sound like a long-suffering husband and father. Regrettably, he's pretty sure he's failing.

Kuroko stares back impassively. "It isn't Nigou's fault that everything you cook is delicious."

"He _does_ have a point, Taiga," Himuro sighs, slinking forward from where he leans against the counter to idly hook his chin over Kagami's shoulder from behind. "I remember all the times at your house in L.A.; I was whining, too."

"You guys are all gonna spoil me," Kagami grumbles, but the praise pleases him all the same, and he puts a little more flair into flipping over the vegetables before putting them in the tiny oven to roast. "At least I had space to work, there," he adds to Himura, giving him an elbow in the ribs. "The ovens here are the size of microwaves. Remember that first Thanksgiving we did, when you and Alex showed me a turkey for the first time? Ah, Kuroko, you'd have flipped out, they're _huge_."

"Is that so." Kuroko is at least satisfied with Nigou starts growling in mirror to his own, flat stare.

Himuro, for his part, pays them absolutely no mind, and languidly slings an arm around Kagami's shoulders. "She called me the other day, you know. I think she was surprised you didn't go to college in the States. Your talents would be appreciated a bit better there, I think… ahh, you've really gained a lot of muscle tone up here," he murmurs, sliding his fingers underneath the edge of Kagami's shirt, brushing along the curve of his shoulder.

"You think?" Kagami shrugs, then flexes a bit, looking at himself in the mirror. "You really think I've gotten bigger? It's hard to tell, I've been playing against so many huge guys the last few years."

He lays the steaks into the pan, grinding seasonings over the scored tops. "I thought about going to UCLA," he admits, avoiding Kuroko's eyes. "I applied and everything. I just….I'd be leaving too much behind." He does dart a glance at Kuroko then, and is startled to see something like open hostility on his face. What the hell?

"You would have definitely gotten scouted in college ball," Himuro sighs, _slowly_ trailing his hand away and leaning back against the counter. "I would've thought for sure you'd want to go pro."

Kuroko _calmly_ goes to check on the toaster.

"That's really not the point for me," Kagami says, poking at each of the steaks and stretching out, working out the kinks in his neck before checking on the vegetables. "I like playing basketball because….because I love playing basketball, you know? I don't want my whole life broken down into percentages and team trading and politics, all that stuff. I'll still play in college, but I probably won't even try out for the BJ league after college. What about you?"

"Compared to all the people with such natural talent, I don't stand a chance." Himuro idly trails a thumb down the back of Kagami's neck, tsking at the tension he finds there. "You shouldn't let yourself go to waste like that," he murmurs, stepping around to knead his fingers in. "It would really be a shame."

"You're being an idiot," Kagami mutters, though his eyes flutter shut a bit at the impromptu massage. Dammit, he doesn't even _like_ people doing that usually, but Tatsuya's always had a way with his hands. "You're a genius on the court, fuck. Just because we beat you doesn't mean you should give up."

"You're being flattering tonight," Himuro says, eyes lidding as he digs his fingers in harder, working down the back of Kagami's neck in slow, even circles. "I'm just being realistic. My hard work has paid off, but it takes more than just hard work to make it pro, and you know that."

"Excuse me," Kuroko quietly pipes up, having long come back inside again. There's an annoyed little edge to his voice that he can't quite shove away. "While my English is fairly proficient, it isn't anywhere near as fluent as yours. Is there any way you two could speak Japanese?"

Kagami blinks. "Shit, sorry, I didn't even realize we slipped into it. Must have been a reflex." He looks at Kuroko, a slight frown on his face. "You didn't get the toaster? What happened to it, anyway? Oh, Tatsuya, how many steaks do you want?" he asks, adding two more for himself.

"The toaster is still thinking about what it did." As if that explains everything.

"… Two will be fine, I think-you know, your boyfriend is a little odd," Himuro says wryly underneath his breath, sliding his hands to Kagami's shoulders.

"He can't cook," Kagami says, as if _that's_ the part that needs explanation. "Kuroko, you just want one small one, right? And extra vegetables, but I'll pick out the ones you don't like. Ah, Tatsuya, that's good," he mutters, eyes lidding as strong thumbs dig into sore muscles in his shoulders.

"You shouldn't let yourself get to this point. Then again," Himuro lightly says, digging his fingers in firmly, "Kuroko seems to have such a light touch, it's no small wonder he can't do this properly."

"… Just one is fine, yes." Kuroko decides not to point out that Himuro has switched back to English again. It's probably not worth the fight when _he_ will sound like the whiny one.

Kagami would have to be an idiot not to hear the tone in Kuroko's voice by now. "Hey, Tatsuya," he says, just remembering, "didn't you say you were bringing drinks? Did you leave them in your car or something?"

"Ahh, I definitely did. Five minutes, I'll be back," Himuro says, carefully stepping around the growling dog as he makes his exit.

"Nigou." _Good boy_ is on the tip of Kuroko's tongue, though he resists this time.

Kagami leans forward onto his elbows on the countertop, looking at Kuroko. "Okay, talk. What's up? You've been really growly and unpleasant all night. I thought you _wanted_ me to have a good relationship with Tatsuya again."

"I do," Kuroko agrees, poking his head up over the back of the couch so Kagami only gets a glimpse of his eyes. The dog trots over to him, jumping up next to him to duplicate the same stare. "But not when he is all over you and flirting with you right in front of me."

Kagami misses his grip, and burns his hand on the cast iron handle of the steak pan. "Ah! What the-Kuroko, you idiot, what the hell are you talking about? Tatsuya's my _brother_, that's all. What are you even talking about?"

"Do brothers talk about your muscles and put their hands all over you and also mention how they were whining in your house in America?"

Kagami opens his mouth, then shuts it again, staring in confusion at Kuroko. "He's _always_ been kind of like that," he says weakly. "It was nice, in America no one ever touches each other and it was….I don't know, like home. He always made me feel not so alone, it's not like he wants to _sleep_ with me or anything, god."

"Because Kagami-kun is clearly an expert when it comes to telling that people are flirting with him," Kuroko deadpans.

Kagami glares. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I always know when people are flirting with me!" He does, so long as the answer is "almost never." He can probably count the number of flirtations he's had on, well, about one finger.

"Ah. So for the past three years, you were just ignoring me?"

"I-" Kagami shuts his mouth. "That doesn't count. I was flirting with _you_." Or trying to, at any rate.

Kuroko's eyebrows raise. "Kagami-kun," he says in all seriousness, "I think your idea of flirting is a little skewed."

"Back!" Himuro interrupts, and Kuroko slinks back down into a corner of the couch, trying his best not to hiss. "I splurged for you, Taiga; I know how picky you are about your beer."

"It's not splurging if you can afford it so easily," Kagami says, a little flustered as he starts plating the steaks and veggies. He slides the food out to the table, taking off his apron and wadding it up before finally deciding it's not worth stressing over. "Oi, Tatsuya, tell Kuroko he's nuts. He thinks you're flirting with me."

Kuroko _does_ hiss this time. "_Kagami-kun_-"

Himuro can't help but exhale a laugh. "Well, he's a little strange, but I can't say he's _nuts_. I suppose I was a _bit_ too forward this time; maybe that was my own irritation that you hooked up with someone that wasn't me."

"… Americans are quite blunt, aren't they," Kuroko flatly says, giving Kagami a scathing stare that very plainly says _I told you so_.

Kagami stares at Himuro, then snarls, punching him in the shoulder. "Knock it off, asshole," he growls, "he's going to think you're serious!"

Himuro's lips twitch into a faint, amused smile as he sways with the punch. "But I _am_ serious."

Kagami rolls his eyes. "But like, for _real_," he stresses, cutting a huge piece of his steak and stuffing it into his mouth. "Kuroko, he's just teasing you. He doesn't _really_-shit, Tatsuya, you're making a way too serious face."

"Am I?" Himuro mildly asks, settling down to cut into his own steak and take a bite. "You're still an excellent cook-ah, don't tell me you're giving up on basketball to be this guy's personal chef or something? He barely even eats."

"I eat," Kuroko quietly argues, slowly nibbling on a vegetable.

"I'm not sure that counts as eating."

"He eats just fine. I can always finish what he doesn't eat," Kagami adds, eyes narrowed and locked on to Himuro's. "Oi, what are you playing at, though? Not to bring up ancient history, but _you_ were the one who punched me out when I told you I liked you, in eighth grade."

"Was I? Ah, well, time _does_ change a person," Himuro notes, holding Kagami's gaze steadily. "You always were better at being honest with yourself, Taiga."

Old feelings well up for a moment, and Kagami stuffs another chunk of beef into his mouth, chewing sort of furiously. "You made yourself pretty clear. Why are you fucking with me now, in front of Kuroko?"

Himuro considers that for a moment, chewing thoughtfully as he does. "Because," he finally says, plucking up a vegetable, "it's that sort of 'last chance' theory. I might as well give it one more go before letting you be happily ever after."

Kuroko coughs politely, though it sounds suspiciously like 'Aomine-kun two point oh.'

"You," Kagami says, pointing a finger into Kuroko's face, "have no right to talk, because I'm not gonna even bring up what _you_ did. And _you_," he says, pointing another finger at Himuro, "are just messing with me. And if you're not, then you should have been less of an asshole." He fingers the ring around his neck, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "This is a really stressful dinner," he mutters, grabbing a beer and popping the top off with his teeth.

"If I was just messing with you, would I really be this honest about it?"

"Americans have a way of being blunt like that, so I've found," Kuroko murmurs, pushing his plate aside and getting up to go and find Nigou's leash. "I'm going to walk the dog, I think I've lost my appetite."

Kagami watches him go, annoyed, and covers his plate with an upside-down bowl, just in case he gets hungry later. The second the door clicks behind him, he turns on Himuro, fully expecting to see a smug, laughing face. "Why'd you have to do that, huh?"

Himuro blinks back at him, his lips slowly curving into a smile. "Well, I got you all to myself in the end, didn't I?"

"Was that the plan?" Kagami demands. "Piss my boyfriend off so you could laugh at me when he leaves? Well, thanks a lot, it worked."

"Ideally," Himuro drawls, setting his knife down as he climbs to his feet, "it was 'piss your boyfriend off, get you all to myself, and then-'" With that, he plops himself down into Kagami's lap, slinging a leg neatly over his hips. "_Really_ have you all to myself," he breathes, leaning forward to close his teeth against the curve of one ear.

Kagami blinks. This is….different. "Oh," he says, swallowing hard. "You weren't joking." It sounds lame to his ears, and he can only _imagine_ the I-told-you-so he'll get from Kuroko later, even though it makes him want to crawl into a hole. His face darkens, and he shoves at Himuro's chest. "Asshole! You should have done that when I wanted you, not _four years later,_ the _second_ I'm with someone else!"

Himuro shrugs, leaning back only slightly, his hands loosely splaying over Kagami's shoulders. "If I remember correctly, you said at first you two were just roommates. Maybe you should keep it that way."

"He's my boyfriend." Kagami's voice is quiet, but firm. "We _live_ together. This is real, Tatsuya. You shouldn't be trying to mess it up when I'm happy."

Irritation flickers over his face, immediate and sharp. "_He's_ the reason you aren't going to school in L.A.," Himuro flatly says. "The reason you aren't going to keep playing after college."

"No," Kagami growls, "I'm not going to keep playing after college because everyone who lives just for basketball winds up hating it and turning into a dick about it. _He's_ the reason I keep remembering that I love the stupid game."

"There's a little thing called manifest destiny, you know," Himuro snidely retorts. "Keep thinking you'll end up that way, and you will. But you're _better_ than that, Taiga; I just can't believe you'd want to waste so much talent."

"I'm not _wasting_ shit. You're good at math," Kagami points out, trying not to notice that Himuro's still sitting on his lap. "Doesn't mean you have to become a mathematician, right? I don't want to just play a game my whole life, I want to make a difference."

"Oh, and do what?" Himuro snaps. "Really, Taiga, I thought you had a little bit more motivation than all of this. Maybe you are better off stagnating here with your _boyfriend_, considering he's already quit completely."

"Because you hate guys that quit?" Kagami demands. "Like guys who quit being _friends_ with people just because they're better at a stupid game?" He grabs the ring around his neck, and asks, "Do you even still have yours? Or did you throw it in the garbage along with my contact information, apparently, since you haven't called me in years, and now you show up at the home I share with my _boyfriend_ and try to _hit on me_?"

"It wasn't just _trying_ when you seemed fairly interested from the start," Himuro drawls, leaning back slightly in Kagami's lap. "And of course I still have mine," he snorts, tugging the chain free from here it is tucked underneath his shirt. "Don't be a dumbass, Taiga. We've both had our own things to take care of, there's nothing wrong with me finally trying _now_."

Kagami's heart aches. "You tried," he says quietly. "If you'd tried years ago it would have worked. I-I don't _get_ it. What do you even want from me? Half the time you don't even seem to _like_ me, let alone want anything else."

Himuro sighs a long-suffering sigh before leaning forward, calmly wrapping his hands up into Kagami's hair, and holding him still when he simply leans down and kisses him, hard and insistent and _needy_. "Try and tell me you don't get it now," he breathes, nipping at the other boy's lower lip. "It's a lot less complicated than you're making it."

Shit.

There's a part of Kagami that has wanted this for years, still aches sometimes when he thinks about it, still lets his mind wander to kissing across that beauty mark when he's got a hand wrapped around himself in the shower. There's a long, shuddering moment where he lets himself be kissed, lets himself remember how many good years they'd had, how confident, how _fun_ Himuro was, how generous and knowledgeable, how comforting in a strange country. How _pretty_, pale skin and dark hair and delicate features, all hiding an inner core of strength he'd striven every day to meet. He's warm to the touch, tastes like Kagami's cooking, feels like _home_.

Kagami's hands come up to Himuro's waist, and he wavers slightly for a second before picking him up, lifting him off his lap and setting him down on the ground before standing up. "Stop it." The words don't come out as firm as he'd intended, and he scrubs a hand over his face, breathing hard. "This isn't going to happen, Tatsuya."

Himuro's eyes narrow, and the flush that rises to his cheeks is hot and angry. "_Why?_" is the hiss of a question to follow, and he lurches forward, grabbing at the ring around Kagami's neck. "You've kept this even after I told you to get rid of it. You just _liked it_ when I kissed you, for fuck's sake-don't try and tell me you _didn't_."

Kagami slaps his hand away, then grabs Himuro's collar, yanking him close, eyes blazing. "Yeah, I liked it! Because I had a goddamn crush on you for _years_. But that's _it_, Tatsuya-it's a crush. You don't want _this_." He swallows, breathing hard, looking around the apartment. "You'd get bored of me. Or angry at me, or resentful, or something. Just because I still have feelings for you doesn't mean I'm going to forget how much _better_ Kuroko is for me. This is the life I want."

"… You're missing out," Himuro lowly says, shoving Kagami's hand away as he steps back. "_You're_ going to be the one that's bored, and _resentful_, because you're going to _regret_ not coming back to the states and doing something you _love_. All because you're sitting here in a country you don't even like, because of some weird kid and his _dog_. You _hate_ dogs, what the fuck."

"Get out." Kagami's face is dark, his eyes narrowed to slits. "I want you out of our place. Right now."

Himuro snorts, shrugging as he turns away. "Fine. _Really_ throw that ring away this time, then," he flatly says as he reaches the door and yanks his shoes back on. "No reason for you to keep it now, is there?"

No matter how many times he's heard words like that, they always feel like a punch in the gut. Maybe he'd prefer a punch in the gut. "You don't get to tell me what I can do with my stuff," Kagami growls, yanking the door open for him.

"Keep it, then. And keep pining over it, or whatever it is you do with it," Himuro tosses over his shoulder, grabbing the door and yanking it shut behind himself.

It's only a few minutes later before the door opens again, Nigou trotting inside with Kuroko following. "Ah… Himuro-kun left already?" he mildly asks, his eyebrows raising as he toes his shoes off.

Kagami sits on the couch, head in his hands, back bowed. "Yeah," he says softly, not looking up. "He won't be coming back." His stomach is a twisted, knotted thing, and sometimes his eyes burn for a second. The cheap metal chain around his neck feels as heavy as lead, and his chest feels too tight to comfortably breathe.

Slowly, Kuroko makes his way to the couch, gingerly dropping down next to him. "I'm really sorry, Kagami-kun." He is, even if he doesn't like Himuro for a number of the things he's done _prior_ to this. Kuroko leans over, gently dropping his forehead against Kagami's shoulder. "Sometimes, people we like just don't do good things."

"Go on," Kagami mutters, throat constricting painfully. "Say you told me so, I know you want to. Say he's no better than Aomine and I should have listened to you."

"You just said it, so I don't need to say it again." Kuroko scoots closer, butting his face into Kagami's neck. "I'm not _happy_ that Himuro-kun acted that way, you know."

"Neither am I." Kagami wipes his hands over his face, pretending they come away dry, and squeezes Kuroko's hand. "I'm sorry he was a dick to you. I'm sorry this was a terrible evening."

"Lots of people have been worse than that to me; Himuro-kun was just mildly annoying. I'm more angry that he upset you so much," Kuroko says without batting an eye. "But, he left us a lot of beer. We should drink it all just to spite him."

Kagami huffs out a laugh at that. "Yeah, okay. Uh, just so you know, he kissed me." He flushes dark red at that, not quite able to meet Kuroko's eyes. "I shoved him away, but….well, not very fast. Sorry."

Kuroko tilts his head, thinking for a moment before he leans up, grabs Kagami's face, and pulls him down into a kiss of his own. "There," he says, leaning back. "I canceled it out."

Kagami exhales a deep breath, then lurches up, grabbing Kuroko's face and kissing him hard, pressing him down into the couch. Kuroko is solid, for a guy who disappears so often, and comforting, more of a presence than Kagami had expected. His lips are soft, and Kagami _takes_ them, holding him down with all his weight, determined that they'll be so close together that nothing will come between them again. "Sorry," he mutters, breaking off for a breath, then kisses him again anyway. He's probably going too fast for both of them, but-hell, they live together, right? Kuroko _had_ said they could do this any time.

Kuroko flops back, expression entirely unconcerned and _pleased_. "Why are you apologizing?" he murmurs, sliding his hands around Kagami's neck, curling his fingers against his back as he leans up to kiss back, biting a little at Kagami's lower lip as he wriggles to stay close. "Kagami-kun is allowed to kiss me any time he wants."

"Well," Kagami admits between kisses, "yeah." Kuroko tastes nice, mild and sweet, and he sucks on his bottom lip, residual anger making him bold. His hands tease around the hem of Kuroko's shirt, and he asks a bit breathlessly, "Can I do this, though? I know you're a pure unsullied virgin…"

"Should I blush and protest more if that's the case?" Kuroko asks, eyes lidded as his tongue flicks out, tracing it over his own, already bruised lips. "Because mostly I just like it when you touch me. Kagami-kun has nice hands."

Kagami runs his hands up under Kuroko's shirt, over the play of muscles, the smooth skin, squeezing and rubbing until he finally yanks off the shirt and starts kissing, too. "You're really bad at being an innocent virgin, you know. I'm probably better at it."

"Not when you yank my shirt off like that." Kuroko contemplates pretending to squeak and whine and blush, but it doesn't quite work when all he wants to do is kiss Kagami, hard and hungry and eager, and he lurches up instead, tugging at Kagami's hair to keep him _down_. "Kagami-kun doesn't _kiss_ like an innocent virgin," he breathlessly points out, tongue dragging over Kagami's lower lip.

"Yeah? Good."_ At least I'm good at pretending I know what I'm doing._ Kagami isn't too sure what Kuroko thinks his experience has been, but somehow it's a little embarrassing to admit how little of it there's been. That doesn't stop him from kissing Kuroko back, or from sliding his hands up to Kuroko's chest, then down his belly, one of them venturing down to stroke against a toned thigh. Kuroko is a _good_ kisser, and Kagami takes every second and wipes out the memory of that stupid beauty mark he'd never gotten his lips on after all.

Even when Kuroko draws back to breathe, there's no chance of really keeping his mouth off of Kagami's skin. He nuzzles into the crook of his neck, teeth setting into the curve of his shoulder for a first, soft bite before fastening to the side of his neck instead, sucking harder as he wriggles to let his own legs spread wider. "Sorry," he murmurs. "I have to make sure everyone knows you're taken for sure."

"If I'm not apologizing, you're not apologizing," Kagami growls, the mouth on his neck making his blood pump hard. He moves, a leg coming to rest between Kuroko's knees, and he lets his hand drag up Kuroko's thigh to press lightly against him. He doesn't quite expect the way that makes his breath shorten, the way it makes his cock so hard at the very idea that he's touching someone else's dick, feeling the throb and pulse of it under his palm, and his hand tightens slightly as he lets out a moan.

Kuroko's voice is muffled into Kagami's neck, and he bites a bit harder, eyes fluttering as his hips arch upward automatically. Kagami's hands are _big_ and warm and surprisingly careful, and his breath hitches in his throat as he tries to slide one of his own down, plucking at the waistband of the other boy's shorts. "Off," he quietly orders. "I want to really be able to touch you."

Kagami nods breathlessly, standing only to shuck his clothes, letting his shirt join his shorts and socks on the floor. After a second's hesitation, the chain and ring join them. That doesn't need to come between him and Kuroko right now, literally or figuratively.

He's not exactly _shy_, but no one's ever seen him erect before, and he's a bit hesitant as he kneels back on top of Kuroko. _God, I hope it's okay. I hope it's not weird._ "You can….do whatever you want."

It's actually sort of strange to think that even though he's been thrown against a wall of lockers, and into a bed (in various positions), Kuroko's never really had _that_ much of a chance to touch someone like this. His breath is a bit ragged when his fingers slide over the tip of Kagami's cock, thumb dragging from the head all the way down the underside of it. "You're _really_ hard," he murmurs, eyes lidding. "Kagami-kun must have really wanted this."

Kagami nods wordlessly. It feels too good to have Kuroko's hand on him, gently touching, stroking, _exploring_. For a brief second, he wonders, and then asks softly, "Have you needed it as bad as I have?" God, he hopes Kuroko understands what he's saying, but he probably doesn't. He's not sure Kuroko _wants_ as badly, has felt so trapped, so hungry and like there's nothing he could do about it.

"… I've thought about Kagami-kun for a really long time." Kuroko exhales a short laugh when he thinks about it, and buries his face back into Kagami's shoulder as his fingers give a slow, tentative squeeze. "Remember that time one of your jerseys went missing, never to return? I'm sorry, but I'm a horrible thief and probably should be punished."

Kagami stares at Kuroko, unsure if he should really be this amused or if he should be freaked out, aroused, or _what_. Fortunately, his body seems to be interpreting every emotion as arousal right now, and he throbs painfully against Kuroko's hand. "W-what….what did you do with it?" he asks, voice a rasp.

"I… curled up with it, on some nights," Kuroko's face burns as he thinks about it, and he huffs out a soft, eager breath as his hand drags up the length of Kagami's cock, far less tentative now that he can feel the other boy _aching_ in his grasp. "But on others… I'd… bury my face in it, and imagine it was you." He swallows shakily. "When I jerked off."

Kagami doesn't _mean_ to.

But when Kuroko says those words, when he looks like that, there's really not much help for it.

Kagami jerks up into Kuroko's hand, a ragged, shuddering gasp coming from his mouth as he comes, spilling hot and wet over Kuroko's fingers as he groans. "F-fuck," he whispers, shoulders sagging as he looks down at Kuroko. "Ah, shit, that was really fast, wasn't it?"

"I'm considering it a compliment," Kuroko says with a soft, hitching exhale, and slowly, he slides his hand up, giving one sticky finger a tentative lick. "… Definitely tastes like you," he decides, a little shiver going down his spine. "Ah… Kagami-kun, if you don't mind, I'm still…"

"Let me." Kagami's cock is already twitching, even though that just makes him ache more, when he sees the entirely unfair way Kuroko looks when he flicks out his tongue. He's probably too eager when he reaches for Kuroko's pants, yanking them down and closing a hand around his cock, groaning a little at the feel of it in his hand. The skin is so soft, and he _knows_ how sensitive it must be as he starts stroking, squeezing slightly as he works his fingers from the leaking tip down to the base, making everything slick.

_Kagami_ isn't very fair either.

Kuroko grabs at the other boy's shoulders, a low groan caught in his throat as his legs spread wider on their own accord, his hips jerking up into the heat of Kagami's palm. It's far, _far_ cry from touching himself, and that makes it even better, especially when he can bury his face into Kagami's chest, breathing in deep the scent of him, musky and _masculine_.

It doesn't take long, not when he's already a little on edge, riled up and _eager_ that it's Kagami and if he has anything to say about it, will only ever _be_ Kagami again. Kuroko bites into Kagami's shoulder, muffling a soft groan as he spills, wriggling up against the slickness of Kagami's hand as he rides out his orgasm, pleasantly shivering.

Kagami leans down, kissing Kuroko's lips softly, letting them linger for a moment until Kuroko stops twitching. Then, he slowly pulls his hand away, sniffing it for a second, then tasting a tiny drop. When that tastes like nothing, he tries a bigger one, but nope, still nothing. _I should have known. _"That….probably wasn't anything like being with Aomine," he mutters, cheeks a bit pink. "I get the feeling he's got a lot of practice, but I'll catch up."

Kuroko promptly grabs at Kagami's back, hauling him down and holding him there firmly. "I like it a lot better this way," he says, and that is _very_ far from a lie. "Aomine-kun might have a lot of practice, but that doesn't mean he's very good at it."

Kagami flushes beet red at that, but he lets himself be held, nuzzling against Kuroko's neck. "Yeah? Well, good. That way-I mean, from what I saw, you looked….stressed, I guess. And kinda like you were in pain."

"Definitely stressful. And grabby, in bad ways. And he's… just in case _you_ haven't noticed either, I'm normal sized and you're… not."

"I-" Kagami looks down, and flushes. "Well, right _now_ we're not that different."

Kuroko calmly flicks him in the forehead. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, though."

"Well...I'm not _that_ sure. Do you mean I'm too big to put it in you? Because that's okay, we can do other stuff, I don't care." Kagami pauses. "If you mean something else, just tell me."

"You're not too big for that… it's more… everything Aomine-kun did was way too fast, and he's really not the _nicest_ about it," Kuroko grumbles. "But I know you aren't like that, so it's fine."

"So….you _do_ want to do that?" Kagami asks, not quite sure where he stands himself on the whole subject. "Why did you bring up how big we are? You _are_ talking about dicks, right?"

"Yes, Kagami-kun," Kuroko deadpans, "I'm talking about dicks. We can do whatever, I don't care, but I was just saying in the event you _do_ want to… put it in me…" It's a lot more embarrassing to actually_ say it._

Kagami can't look Kuroko in the eye right now, not with all the embarrassing things they're both saying. "Then...you'd want me to be gentle and slow?" Jesus, he hopes he's got it now. "Well, duh, don't let me hurt you. You're strong enough to punch me in the throat if I do that."

"Mm. I'll definitely punch you in the throat, then." Kuroko lightly butts his face into Kagami's shoulder. "But gently, because I like you."

"I guess that's acceptable," Kagami says with a grin. "Hey….we just had sex. And you were a pure and unsullied virgin, so...I guess neither of us are anymore." It's embarrassing to admit, but Kuroko's definitely guessed anyway.

"Good." Kuroko snuggles himself up against Kagami's chest, quite pleased with himself (and about having taken Kagami's virginity in turn, for that matter). "That was according to my plan exactly."


	4. Chapter 4

~Four Years Later~

Kise isn't nervous about sending a text message.

That would be _stupid_, and make way more sense coming from anyone but him. After all, what does he have to be _afraid_ of?

_That he'll say no._

Kise laughs at himself, punches in a number secured from his agent, and texts.

_Hey, I'm in Miami. Want to get a drink? -Kise_

Aomine isn't so jaded he'd ignore even _that_ attempt to reach out, is he? Kise's seen the games. He still loves basketball, if nothing else. That means the Aominecchi he used to know has to still be in there, _somewhere_.

Probably half an hour passes before Aomine even bothers grabbing for his phone. When he's not practicing (read: working his ass off for once, which is _nice_), the Miami heat is enough to make him sleepy even on a good day, and the ding of his phone is enough to make him groan and throw a pillow.

When he finally opens it up, though, he has to stare a bit.

Kise, of all fucking people. Aomine has to laugh a bit as he sits up, throwing his legs over the side of his bed. What the hell, why not-he hasn't had much of a chance to show off to any of his old 'friends', and after having a damn successful career over the past four years, he has a _lot_ to show for it.

That's satisfying, if nothing else.

_I'll make you one at my place. If you're a stalker enough to find my phone number, you've probably got my address, too._

Kise laughs to himself. That feels damn good, to not only get a reply (more than the rest of them have gotten in four years), but one that actually _sounds_ like Aomine….yeah, that's good.

He calls up his manager, and a few phone calls and bribes later, is in a yellow taxi on his way to a really shockingly nice house. He whistles under his breath, looking down over the top of designer sunglasses, taking in the architecture and above all, the _size_ of it.

He takes off his white jacket, tossing it casually over one shoulder, waves to the cabbie, and rings the doorbell. (He does _not_ strike a pose. That would be ridiculous. Even if he wants to show off how much he's been working on his body lately.)

When the door opens, a half-dressed Aomine (what, who the fuck needs shirts in this weather) casts a gaze solidly up and down Kise, exhaling an amused snort. "It's a porch, not a runway," he snidely greets, stepping back to let Kise inside. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

Back in high school, Kise would probably have pouted. Now he just laughs a little, giving Aomine a wink and stepping over the threshold. "I'd have thought all this time in the public eye had made you realize, Aominecchi. When there might be paparazzi everywhere, the whole world is a runway. _Nice_ place."

"If you think I give a fuck about the paparazzi…" Though his agent has a few choice words to say from time to time regarding that mindset-whatever, at least she's got great tits. Aomine rolls his eyes, shutting the door as he trails after Kise. Huh. Well, seems like no matter how expensive his pants are, he still has a great ass. "Sorry, I forgot you're a famous movie star now-you'd probably give more fucks about it."

"Kind of the nature of the beast," Kise agrees mildly. "If you don't give a fuck about the paparazzi, they tend to fuck you up. As soon as my last single went platinum in the States I got mobbed a lot more often." He stretches, tossing Aomine his jacket to hang up. "I bet you get plenty of that, Mr. Famous Basketball Star. You're part of that whole Asian Invasion they've been talking about."

Aomine couldn't roll his eyes harder if he tried. "Fucking hate that tagline. No one else from Japan plays any fucking better than they did in high school or college ball," he says, dismissively throwing Kise jacket over the back of a chair. "It's a big joke. If you ever want to play _real_ ball, get on the court against some of these guys. It's actually a good time, once in awhile."

"Yeah? I'd heard a lot of the pro games in America were staged." Kise looks around for a bit, sights what he thinks is the kitchen, and hops up on a tall, upholstered stool. "Glad to hear that's not the case. Make me a drink?"

"Eh, they tried to do that kind of shit a few times," Aomine says with a laugh. "Which is fucking funny, because I tune out and do what I want anyway. Can't help it when I score 80 points in a game and they're just fucked," he says over his shoulder with a grin as he sidles into the kitchen. "Let me guess, now that you're Mr. Famous Slutty Model-Movie Star-Pop Star, you like prissy, fruity things."

Ah, it's nice to see Aomine like this. Hell, he looks more relaxed and fulfilled than he ever had in middle or high school, and Kise relaxes himself, grinning from ear to ear. "Give me one of whatever you're having. I save the prissy fruity things for when I'm at clubs, you can nurse those forever and not get hungover."

"Ahh, so Kisee thinks he's safe here." Only a moment later, and Aomine slides a glass of scotch across the counter to the other man, smirking as he downs part of his own. "Or you just wanna get shitfaced and sleep in my nice bed. How's all that travel going for you? Got a lot of girlfriends? Or are you sick of the cute things you like keeping on your arm by now?"

Kise downs half of his glass without a wince, giving Aomine a wink. "You want to show me your nice bed already, hmm?" He pulls out his phone, flipping to a folder and typing in a password. "This is Michele. She's my Parisienne girlfriend. Super cute, hmm? This is Aimee, that's London. Jessica, New York. Rosario, L.A., Ming-Na, Hong Kong, Bethany, Sydney…" He grins, handing it over. "None in Miami yet. Know anyone?"

Aomine boredly flips through, exhaling a sigh through his nose. "Geez, Kisee, have some fucking taste. Where's the tits?" He tosses the phone back carelessly. "And yeah, I know a few girls. Good luck remembering their numbers, though-uhh, one of them was blonde, big boobs, another one was a redhead… wouldn't say _nicer_ boobs, but, you know, definitely bigger…" He downs the rest of his drink in short order. "Whatever, you'll find a girlfriend, they all want a movie star."

"Hmm, well," Kise drawls, leaning forward on his elbows, "it's only important that I have a girlfriend in a city if I'm going to be spending a lot of time there. We could go out, you could introduce me around." He downs the rest of his drink, finger sliding idly around the rim of his glass. "You hear from any of the others?"

"Akashi tries doing that fucking weird power trip thing of his from time to time still. 'I made you what you are', that whole round of bullshit. It's fun to hang up on him." Aomine leans forward, tipping, the bottle of scotch over Kise's glass again. "Miami's kind of a shithole if you get off the coast. Pass."

"Mm, he tried to do that to me. If he were anyone else, I'd think he'd lost a bunch of money and was trying to blackmail us for it." Kise takes a sip this time, the initial burn of the alcohol wearing away. "That stuff's not bad. Hey, Murasakibara's been using alcohol more often in his new bon bon place. You been?"

"Dude, I barely have time to sleep." Aomine sounds pretty happy about that, truth be told. "Feel honored that I got out of bed for your prissy ass. Which, yeah okay, I will grant you still looks good after all these years."

"I knew you were checking it out," Kise says with a grin. "I'm glad the NBA's keeping you so busy. Still think the only one who can beat you is you, O Grand Middle School Champion?"

"Aww, fuck you, Kisee," Aomine mutters, glaring at him as he takes a swig directly from the bottle. "They can't sign me on enough contracts, with how many games I win for them. It's good, though," he admits, over the counter. "_You_ would've done pretty well for yourself going pro, too, you know."

"Thought about it, at least for a few years," Kise admits. "I miss playing. I miss being on a team like that, too. Kaijou got so _good_ the last couple years." He shrugs, running a hand back through his hair, finishing off his drink. "But acting is a more reliable long-term career. No one will hate me for breaking an ankle when I might go up against someone like Hanamiya at any time, you know?"

"If people pull stunts like Hanamiya in the NBA, they get their asses thrown right the fuck out," Aomine bluntly points out, but he shrugs all the same. "Whatever. You're a famous movie star and I can't turn on the radio without hearing your perky little singing voice. I guess that's success if I've ever seen it."

"It's something," Kise agrees cheerfully. "At least I have a cute voice, and a cute face on all those skin cream products." He rolls his eyes, then taps his glass for another refill. "I'm _finally_ starting to get some decent roles. Acting is tough, you know? And a lot of fun when you're doing it well and not just faking and being handsome. My manager was going to make me go back to boku if I didn't get a more serious role, so thank god for period drama."

"Total veto over here for that, just so you know. That'd make me feel like I was fucking a twelve year old."

Kise laughs. "In America it's a little easier to tell who's twelve and who's twenty, isn't it? Ah, but you get in more trouble if you slip up, I think. Is that difficult? It seems like it would be difficult."

"… I am so not taking you out into town." Aomine reaches over, giving Kise's forehead a solid flick. "Have some class, dumbass. This is why you should go after girls with big tits, they're almost _never_ too young."

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Kise says with a grin, tiptoing his fingers up Aomine's arm to give his ear a tug. "I never do when I'm sober, it's just hard to remember to look for proof of age sometimes when everyone is dancing. And you know how Tokyo is, _no_ one has big tits."

"No one _cares_ in Tokyo, either," Aomine dryly points out, turning his head aside to snap his teeth in the direction of Kise's hand. "So, go on and get it over with, you've been fucking itching to talk about everyone else since you walked through the door. I guess you're still the social butterfly that talks to all of them, huh?"

Kise gives Aomine's nose a quick touch, just to prove that he can do it without being bitten, and withdraws his hand. "Midorimacchi's in medical school," he reports, "and still very cranky, but I think he's a bit like you, he does something he loves all day now and it makes him a lot easier to deal with. We get coffee sometimes, and he always sneaks in the back whenever I send him a ticket to one of my premiers. Hmm, Murasakibaracchi's just finished an apprenticeship at a bakery, now he's going to Le Cordon Bleu. He gets _really_ angry if you talk to him about croissants for some reason. I don't get it, but I don't like croissants. Akashicchi's sort of disappeared, but he shows up to stuff-Murasakibaracchi's graduation, my premiers, that kind of stuff. He always wears nice suits, so I bet he's doing family things. And…." He hesitates, then ploughs ahead. "Kurokocchi's finished school, he just got hired as a kindergarten teacher. He seems _really_ happy about it."

It's all fine until the mention of Kuroko, and Aomine grunts, downing back another solid drink of the scotch. Maybe he'll just down the whole bottle at this rate. "He still dating Kagami?" If he doesn't ask, it'll just _bug him_. Better to fucking know, if nothing else.

"Yeah." It would be a lie to say Kise isn't watching Aomine like a hawk for his reaction, but at least he's trying to be subtle about it. "He's a firefighter now. He did pretty well in college ball, even got scouted for JBL, but he wouldn't go without Kurokocchi, and they wouldn't take him, so he gave it up."

"A kindergarten teacher and a firefighter. _That_ sounds like a really fucking bad porno."

Kise snorts out scotch through his nose, and ah, that _burns_. He chokes, gasping for breath, sneezing out booze into his sleeve. "Shit. I couldn't have put it better myself."

Aomine tops Kise's glass off for that one, his grin lopsided. "No fucking helping it. God, fuck that guy."

"Never got the chance, myself. From what I heard, _no_ one did."

"At least my crowning achievement was doing Tetsu in the locker room and having that asshat walk in on us."

"I heard about that," Kise confides, knocking back his next drink. Ah, he's already starting to feel pleasantly warm, even in the ridiculous air conditioning. "On Kurokocchi's twentieth birthday we all got really drunk. Akashicchi got it out of him and Kagami somehow."

Aomine tries not to think about how cute Kuroko would be drunk and tipsy and rolling around like a puppy, no doubt. "Explains Akashi's snippy text messages. You guys all suck, I'm glad I'm here and not there."

"Akashi's always weird when it comes to Kurokocchi." Kise's eyes lid, and he takes the bottle from Aomine, taking a long swig. "I've always wondered, what's your happy ending for that scenario? Leave Kagamicchi on the floor crying about you stealing his man, or have them both licking your balls?"

"Neither," he grunts, leaning back and raking a hand through his hair. "Tetsu made it fucking clear he doesn't want anything to do with me. He can just miss out for the rest of his life, I don't fucking care."

Kise hands back the bottle, leaning forward to hook a finger in Aomine's collar. "Let them live out their cheap porno. Who cares? Hey, you have a court here? I'd kill for a little one-on-one."

"Yeah. I guess I miss playing with someone that has half a brain." Aomine shoves aside the dull, annoying ache in his chest in favor of leaning into Kise's tug, almost close enough to steal a kiss. "I bet you're out of practice, though."

"Don't get too cocky. I beat you before." Once in all their years playing, true, but it still _counts_. Kise snatches a quick bite to Aomine's nose, and stands, unbuttoning his designer shirt. "Lend me some practice clothes?"

Aomine leans back, deciding it's best to watch for a moment instead. "Or you could do it naked, you slut."

Kise's eyes lid, and he slides out of his pants, standing in just his custom-brand underwear. "Or we could skip the one-on-one and go straight to the sex," he suggests.

"You are a fucking walking billboard, aren't you." Aomine reaches out a hand, idly hooking one finger into the waistband of Kise's underwear. "How do you sleep at night, being such a whore?" he teases.

Kise laughs, content to let himself be tugged forward, a lazy grin on his face. "I don't see why being a whore should mean I can't sleep at night. Though I admit, I do most of my sleeping after the sun comes out." He winks, laying his hands on Aomine's broad chest, finding it just as warm and smooth and muscular as he remembers, maybe even more so. "Lots of night shoots for that last film, you know."

"Ahh, night owl. That's a new one for you." One long, muscular arm slings its way about Kise's hips, hauling him forward and against him. "Kinda like that you didn't get much taller," Aomine admits, dragging his fingers along the curve of the other man's jaw, back through his hair to fist into it and pull him up into a teasing kiss at first. Shit, it's been awhile since he's had someone _familiar_ in his arms-let alone someone as solid as he. Girls are nothing but softness and curves (tits); Kise is as solid muscle as he's always been, and warm in his grasp.

Kise lets his lips brush against Aomine's, reveling in the heated darkness that's always been the other man. He doesn't melt into it, not yet, not when it's been so long that he wants to savor every little bit of this. He flicks his tongue slightly against Aomine's bottom lip, one hand staying splayed on his chest to feel his heartbeat, the other twining up around his neck, perfectly manicured fingernails scraping against the other man's scalp. "You let your hair get so long," he murmurs, tugging on the short tail behind Aomine's head. He leans up on his toes, voice hot against Aomine's ear. "It makes me want to pull on it when I fuck you from behind."

"Fuck," Aomine mutters, his arm tightening about Kise's waist in one, firm squeeze. If he remembers one thing about Kise, it's that the bastard pushes his buttons _way_ too fucking well.

Because Kise _knows_ him way too fucking well.

"Fucking all those pretty girls hasn't made you lose your touch, has it?" he lowly jabs, grinning as he grabs at Kise, hauling him towards the master suite. "Even _you_ look even more pretty and polished." Which just makes his dick harder, when it comes down to it.

Kise chuckles, easily following Aomine's grabbing hands, and as soon as he sees the bed, gives a hard shove to Aomine's chest, sending him back onto it. "I should be asking you the same question. You remember how to handle one of these?" he asks, eyes lidded as he shucks his underwear, slowly palming himself. "Or are you out of practice after all those tits?" He sort of doubts Aomine has been fucking men. He'd never really been into that, not in the gleeful way Kise's always been into, well, pretty much everyone that smiles at him.

It was a damn good idea to invite Kise over.

Aomine kicks his own shorts off when he hits the bed, his hand snaking down to his own cock with a hiss of breath. "Might be out of practice," he admits, eyes heavy-lidded as they rest on Kise's cock. "I'm picky. Get over here, I wanna suck you before you fuck me."

With anyone else, seeing how eager, how hungry he is for his cock, Kise would probably make him get down on his knees. That's the kind of thing a lot of girls and guys enjoy (including himself), when they're in a mood like that. With Aomine, it would just piss him off, so Kise crawls onto the bed, letting his eyes rake over all that smooth tanned skin, over rippling muscles that have filled out and defined a hell of a lot in the last several years. "Shit, you look good," he breathes. "Want me to feed it to you? Or you want me on my back?"

"Yeah, feed it to me." Aomine's hands grab first for Kise's hair, hauling him down and crushing their lips together, teeth and tongue alike roughening the kiss. "I like remembering how you taste," he breathes, dragging a hand down to grab a handful of Kise's ass and _squeeze_. "Fuck, you _feel_ good, too."

"I work out a lot." Kise bites, tasting a slight hint of blood, and shoves Aomine back, pinning him down to the bed. "Ah, fuck, Aominecchi, I miss your mouth." He moves up, one hand braced on Aomine's shoulder as he kneels over him, the other wrapped around his own cock, squeezing and stroking until a drop of liquid spills down, dripping onto Aomine's lips. He rubs the head of his cock over it, smearing, and his breath hitches. "Open your mouth."

Aomine's eyes flutter, tongue swiping over his own lips before he does as he's told, hungrily lurching up to wrap his lips around the head of Kise's cock before he can even slide it in. Both hands wrap around Kise's hips, squeezing and tugging as he groans, the sound rumbling low in his throat as the flat of his tongue swipes hot and heavy to taste more.

"I forgot how much you like this." Kise isn't really teasing Aomine, just _enjoying_, sliding himself in a little deeper every time, watching Aomine's throat bob, his lips part, getting shinier with saliva and precome with every movement. His hand slowly falls from his cock once he's halfway in, moving to tangle in Aomine's hair instead, and his next thrust goes far enough that he hits the back of Aomine's throat. "Ah, fuck, you're making me lose control."

It's been awhile, but Aomine is still pretty sure he remembers how to suck cock. Kise's easy at any rate-especially when he's this hard agains this tongue, throbbing as he shoves in deep and makes him swallow hard to keep from gagging. He lends himself to the pull of Kise's hands with another, muffled groan, sucking and sloppily lapping at him with every slide, and ah, fuck, his jaw and neck are already starting to hurt with the angle, but that makes it even fucking _better_.

Aomine is way too good at sucking cock. Kise's eyes lid, and he guides Aomine's head up and down, hips rutting forward with each thrust. He sucks cock like he _loves_ it, like he's _hungry_, and not like he's trying to get Kise off at all-he just really seems to like having a dick in his mouth, and Kise's not really sure why he finds that as hot as he does. "You," he murmurs, sliding across Aomine's tongue, trying not to moan as his cock twitches and leaks, "have about ten seconds to decide if you want me in your mouth or on your face."

The moan around Kise's cock is noncommittal at best, and Aomine barely has the mind to think to pull off with a slick pop. "Face," he mutters, licking a hot, wet stripe over the head of Kise's cock as it drips over his lips. "Mess me up, Kisee." _You're the only one that does it right._

Kise's hand fists harder than he intends in Aomine's hair, but he knows Aomine loves it. His other hand wraps around his cock, and he raises up on his knees, trying to draw out the last few seconds where Aomine _knows_ it's coming, his eyes locked on the end of Kise's cock, tongue flicking out to lick over his shiny, swollen lips. "Gonna mess you up," he breathes, and that's it.

He spills in hot stripes, dripping thick and wet over Aomine's face. He shudders, squeezing out the last few drops, cock twitching as he looks at the play of color, the way it shows up so _well_ on Aomine's dark skin. "Fuck, I want you to look in a mirror and see your face."

"Take a fucking picture or something," Aomine hoarsely groans, eyes lidding as he drags a hand up across one cheek, partially wiping away the mess and sucking his fingers clean one by one. "Fuck, Kise. There's something sweet about you," he sighs out, eyes shutting as he makes a lazy grab for Kise's hair, hauling him down for another, messy kiss. "Taste it."

Kise groans, tongue delving into Aomine's mouth, tasting him thoroughly. It's far from the first time he's tasted himself, but it always makes him hard to do it from someone else's mouth, especially a _man's_. Even now his cock makes a valiant effort, throbbing and aching painfully, making him shiver and close his legs for a minute, because _ow_, not yet.

He sucks Aomine's lip into his mouth, finally letting it snap back, and sighs, running a hand back through his hair. "You look so fucking good with a dick in you, Aominecchi," he says fondly. "Some men do. Not many _that_ good, though."

"Guess you're the expert," is the snide, but no less affectionate tease, and Aomine wipes the rest of his face clean as he sags back, flopping an arm around Kise afterwards to keep him close. Even if he knows Kise needs a minute, it's nice to just be able to languidly rub his dick against the firm, smooth expanse of Kise's thigh, taking the edge off a bit. "How fucked up are famous actors allowed to get, huh?" he asks with a grin, absently setting his teeth to the curve of Kise's shoulder. "Do you let your girlfriends gnaw on you like a chew toy?" _Like you used to let me._

"I just finished a shoot," Kise says with a grin, letting his head roll back, baring his neck to Aomine's teeth. "The good thing about not being a basketball star, Aominecchi, is that I can actually go outside wearing whatever I want, and not have to bare all my skin for everyone to see if I don't want to. I can even wear scarves." He pauses, reaching down for Aomine's cock, and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Just don't mess up my face. It's insured."

Aomine snorts out a laugh at that, and promptly lurches up to sink his teeth into the arc of Kise's throat, his voice a low rumble as he sucks and licks. "Fucking priss," he breathes, eyes lidded as he nips again, scraping his teeth over the bump of Kise's Adam's apple, his hips slowly rolling forward into the slide of his hand. "I get it, though. You've got a nice face. If I like it, it's good."

Oddly enough, that feels like more of a compliment than any write-up Kise's ever read about himself calling him an Adonis. Maybe it's because Aomine doesn't make up copy for a living.

Maybe he just cares what Aomine thinks.

He shivers, rubbing his thumb over the head of Aomine's cock, arching his back into the press of those sharp teeth. "And here I thought you only liked my dick. My face is as important to my career as your knees are to yours, you know."

The next sound that rumbles from his throat is more a purr than anything, and Aomine's hips twitch forward, his cock sliding slick and hard within Kise's grasp as he sinks his teeth in again, leaving another bruise at the base of Kise's throat with a slow, sucking bite. "Your dick's nice, too-but without the face, it's no good," he says with a lazy grin, sliding a hand down Kise's spine to give his ass another squeeze. "And the noises you make… the way you fuck… yeah, I like being picky."

"Picky….wonder what that's like?" Kise asks with a laugh, spine tingling at Aomine's bites, thighs parting to give himself better traction. "You should ride me," he breathes, feeling his cock start to come back to life, courtesy more than anything of the _smell_ of Aomine in his nose. "I like the way your abs and thighs look when you're riding my dick."

"You remember after so long?" Aomine bites again, tilting his head up to catch the lobe of one ear this time, slowly tugging on an earring. "Bet you still jerk off to the idea of it, huh."

"Yeah." Kise admits it shamelessly, hands dragging down Aomine's shoulders. "Ah, fuck, now I can't decide. I _really_ want to pull on that slutty ponytail while I fuck you on all fours, too." He worries at his lip, weighing his choices, sliding his hands down Aomine's back.

"Ah? Slutty?" Aomine growls, lurching forward to roll Kise onto his back, slinging his legs over his hips. "Girls think it's hot," he says, leaning down to nip at Kise's throat one last time as he reaches up over Kise's head, grabbing underneath a pillow. "You can fuck me both ways and yank on it all you want, I don't care," he breathes, his hand slick with lotion as it reaches back, dragging up Kise's cock. "First, I'm gonna ride you until you can't see straight."

"Never said it wasn't hot," Kise laughs, eyes lidding as Aomine's hand grips him, slick and cool. His eyes are full of Aomine, his muscles, his skin, his movements like a big cat, and he groans a little just at the sight of him, _knowing_ it'll look even better once he's sinking inside. "How long's it been since you had a man?" he asks, hands sliding up Aomine's thighs, long fingers gripping his hips.

"Awhile." A few years, at least-he'd given it a shot, once, a couple years back, but it was boring at best. Not Kise. Not _Kuroko_. Aomine shoves the thought aside with a shrug. "Told you like five times now-I'm picky about guys," he murmurs, giving Kise's cock a slow squeeze as his hand slides down, knees setting themselves firmly to the bed before he lowers himself down.

"Fuck," is the breathless, initial hiss that leaves his lips at that first, tight stretch, the slick head of Kise's cock pressing inside already enough to make him groan. Aomine arches his back, clawing a hand up Kise's chest before digging it into the sheets next to his head as he sinks down inch by inch, lips parted and eyes lidded, his own cock twitching, dripping over Kise's stomach. "_Fuck_, you've got a nice cock, Kisee."

Kise thanks god he's already come, because a sight like Aomine trembling and moaning and writhing on his cock would have sent him over the edge. He groans as the other man sinks down, fingers digging into Aomine's waist, his own hips snapping up to fill Aomine up that much more, stretching out that tight hole with every inch of his length. "You should be less picky," he whispers, rolling his hips. "You're so hard up for it you didn't even get soft when I went in without prep, shit, _no one_ looks better taking dick than you."

"Bring your prissy ass to Miami more often, then, slut," Aomine groans out, arching his back as he rocks down, another, purring moan leaving his throat when their hips slap together, and he writhes down just to make _sure_ Kise is in as deep as he can possibly go. It's a tight fit, but slick enough with the lotion to be good, and he hisses out through his teeth as he rocks up, muscles taut and quivering along his thighs and abdomen. "Fuck, _fuck_, Kise," Aomine breathes, leaning back as he worries his own bottom lip, snaking a hand down to lazily grab and stroke his own cock, "fuck me hard."

There's something about fucking Aomine that always reduces everything else in life to a dull roar. Maybe it's the way he can trace a single droplet of sweat with his eyes, watching it run down from Aomine's hairline to his neck, down his chest to his abdomen, down and down until it disappears in dark, wiry curls. Maybe it's the way Aomine moves like he's underwater, all careless grace and carnal elegance.

Maybe it's just the way Aomine writhes on his cock.

Kise lets out a feral noise of his own, lurching up to dump Aomine on his back, pulling out and flipping him over with easy strength. Aomine's _heavy_, but Kise's strong too, and he fists a hand in that short ponytail as he yanks the other man back, sliding back inside with a single rough thrust that fills him completely. "That what you need?" he grunts, hips slapping hard against Aomine's, hand jerking hard in Aomine's hair. "Fuck, it's what I need."

"_Fuck_," Aomine rasps out, his eyes rolling back as he grabs for purchase in the sheets, only to give up a moment later, sinking down to his elbows instead. It's way better leverage to shove back, to grind his ass back against Kise when he slides in deep. His cock _throbs_ with every hot, aching stretch, and he sharply arches his back, lending himself to the yank on his hair. "Fucking-ugh, _harder_, you fucking slut-"

Kise takes a moment, hips still pounding a harsh staccato as he looks down, admiring the play of muscles in Aomine's back, the arch of his spine, the bowing of his head. One hand comes up to dig long furrows down Aomine's back, then grab his hips tighter still, leaving bruises behind. "Tell me you can take it," he grunts, fucking Aomine way harder than he would a woman, probably harder than anyone but himself can take. "Tell me you like it when I fuck you until you're _wrecked_."

If he could talk, he'd say it all fucking _night_.

Aomine groans instead, lurching back into Kise's hold, lending himself to every pull and tug and _yank_. It aches, borderline _hurts_, but it's still good in only the way he's sure Kise can make it, especially when he's stuffed full of cock and lost to anything but how it feels to be fucked.

He comes with something that's a mangled curse and Kise's name all at once, chest heaving with the effort it takes to draw in a full breath and his hips still rutting back, taking every inch of Kise's cock that he can.

Kise grins.

He tightens his hands, leaning forward to place a kiss about halfway up Aomine's spine, sliding slowly in all the way and holding. "Now," he murmurs, "is when it's gonna start to hurt."

He pulls out entirely, then slides in again, liking the way the head stretches Aomine's hole, liking the way it always feels like Aomine is trying _not_ to let him in. "You're sensitive now," he breathes, pulling out again, shoving back in, and picking up the pace of short, quick thrusts. "But I'm still hard, and I want to get off in your ass, so I'm gonna keep fucking you even if it's way too much."

It probably says a lot about him that hearing that makes his cock twitch even if he's _just_ come. "If you fucking stop… I'll kill you," Aomine groans out, sagging his weight forward onto his arms. Kise's right, of course; it _does_ hurt, far less a dull ache and one that makes him squirm now that he's spent and trembling, but he likes that, too. Sweat beads between his shoulders with every thrust, his eyes fluttering shut. "Use me, want you to-"

"Good," Kise grunts, and slams forward, using the strength in his arms to _drag_ Aomine back. "Because I'm going to."

He gives up on talking for a while, all his breath going to that perfect tight heat, to the writhing form of the man beneath him. His stamina has gotten a hell of a lot better since high school, and the idea of that almost makes him laugh as he leans down to bite Aomine's shoulder. "Ready to beg for mercy yet, slut?"

"Fuck you," is the rasp of a reply that Aomine tosses back, every muscle a taut, shivering thing even when he wills them not to be. He exhales a shuddering, ragged sound. "Fuck you, just-fill me up already-"

Kise's hand cracks down across Aomine's ass, not even thinking, just _reacting_. He lunges in hard, close to the edge and wanting now to _wait_, to _savor_ this. "Not yet," he breathes, eyes alight as he grips harder, feeling bone under his fingers. "I want to make you limp tomorrow, slut. You're gonna be so full of me it's-"

Ah, he may have underestimated his control when it comes to Aomine just a _bit_.

A startled, strangled gasp is all he can manage, and he slams in as hard as he can, as _deep_ as he can, coming with a low, shuddering groan. "F…._fuck_…."

Aomine sags into the bed with a groan, eyes sliding shut when he can feel exactly how _slick_ everything is inside, how he fucking aches and how everything almost _burns_ with how sore and used up he is. "Fuck you," he exhales, long and ragged. "Skipping practice because of you, you goddamn whore."

Kise collapses over his back, cheek smushed up against Aomine's shoulder blade. "Yeah. Good. Not like it'll be your first time skipping practice. Just like old times, eh?" He nudges his face against Aomine's cooling skin, and adds, "But it wasn't usually because you got fucked cross-eyed."

Aomine grunts. "Definitely not because of that, usually," he tiredly agrees, twisting an arm back in a half-hearted attempt to paw at Kise in some way. "Ugh, fuck. Was good, though."

"Yeah." Kise wriggles around, getting under Aomine's arm and sneaking a quick kiss from his lips. "You still taste like me," he says, to explain the gesture without freaking Aomine out. Maybe he doesn't still get that way at the slightest hint of anything, but Kise doesn't want to take that chance just yet.

"You really are a slut," Aomine sighs out, mussing Kise's hair affectionately before he flops his arm back down over him. "Hey. You gonna be in town for a few days?"

"This time." Kise burrows contentedly, enjoying the size of the bed. "My manager's talking to some locals, we might be doing a shoot here. We'd start in June-think you can handle six to eight weeks of me?"

Aomine looks tired already. "Might die. Also, you're too fucking perky in the morning if you wanna stay over."

"I'm going to pretend that means Aominecchi's missed me."

"Shut up." Aomine grabs the back of Kise's head, promptly shoving his face down into a pillow. "If you're hot, you should be seen and not heard. Or however that saying goes."

"I think that saying is about little kids," Kise says, muffled into a pillow, but he makes no effort to escape.

Really, he makes no effort to escape Aomine at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagami packs Kuroko's books a lot more neatly than he packs his own stuff. He remembers everything Kuroko's said about the proper way to stack them, spines down to preserve the bindings, all facing the same way for ease of sorting. Those books are half the things they even have, aside from assorted basketball trophies, memorabilia, and stuff like that. The lighter boxes go on top, heavier ones on the bottom, and Kagami likes the feeling of the heavy boxes in his hands. It gives him something to work on, even if it's nothing like a strain on his muscles.

There's not even furniture to take. He pulls the mattress off the bed, boxes up the bedding, and follows that with framed photographs-Kuroko's paint-smudged first day on the job, himself on his first day in the fireman's uniform, both of them in black robes holding their degrees, and one tucked away in the back, focused on their intertwined hands.

He's just started packing up the kitchen utensils when Kuroko comes home, and his stomach drops. "Hey. We're moving."

Kuroko blinks slowly at the sight, his head tilting as he sets his bag down on what is, apparently, an already packed box. "… Okay," he slowly offers. "Isn't this a bit sudden, Kagami-kun?" Discussions _generally_ happen first before such things.

Kagami pulls out the silverware from the drawer, swallows hard, then puts it back in, taking a single fork and a few pairs of chopsticks. "I've been looking at some places online. We can move closer to a train station, that's better for both of us. There's a nice apartment by your work, we could probably afford that once I start getting regular paychecks. We'll….we'll stay in a hotel tonight." He doesn't meet Kuroko's eyes, hands starting to touch almost everything, remembering who it belongs to, and setting it down. He balls up his apron, chucking it in one of the boxes, and stands still for a moment in the kitchen, closing his eyes. "It'll be fine."

It clicks, suddenly.

"Ah."

Just because it _clicks _doesn't mean he knows what to say.

Kuroko shifts back onto his heels for a moment before walking the rest of the way inside, into the kitchen, and inches from Kagami before he firmly grabs hold of the other man's face, giving it a solid squeeze. "It's fine," he firmly agrees. "This place was always far too big for us, anyway. We'll save a lot on electricity if we get a smaller apartment."

Kagami's shoulders sag, and he swallows hard around a lump in his throat. He nods, leaning into Kuroko's touch, some of the tension in his neck finally going away after the last few hours since he'd hung up the phone. "We'll get somewhere cozy," he promises, "for about sixty, seventy grand a month, and I'll start cooking more so we won't have to waste money going out. It's worth it to be close to work." _It's worth it if I have you._

"I like cozy. I also like your cooking a lot. You're better than any restaurant." Kuroko gives Kagami's face another, gentle squeeze before adding more quietly, "I _am_ sorry, though." He still doesn't know what to say all the same. It makes him wonder what his own parents would do _if they knew_ and Kuroko forcibly shoves aside that nervous twitch. "Did he… say anything, other than for us to just move out?"

Kagami shrugs, still not quite able to meet Kuroko's eyes. "I'll probably start getting bills for stuff I didn't know he was paying. He wanted to charge me back rent, but I don't think he will." He snorts, grabbing a pillow Kuroko's mother had stitched for the couch and tossing that into one of the boxes. "That would kind of conflict with the whole never speaking to me again and pretending he doesn't have a son thing."

"Mm." Kuroko's eyes lid, and he flops back against the counter with a sigh. "Well, that would be his loss, then. I'm sorry he's being that way, Kagami-kun… but maybe it's for the best, if he simply doesn't want to accept what is and has been for awhile."

"It doesn't _feel_ like his loss." Kagami's voice is quiet, but he keeps moving. Got to keep moving, that's the key. He's glad now that Kuroko hadn't been here when it had happened, hadn't seen him try not to punch the wall, hadn't seen him take a long shower until he was certain his face wouldn't be wet when he got out.

All because of one little phone call. All because he'd wanted to stop hiding, to share one of the most important parts of himself with someone who was supposed to love him forever. "I'm hungry," he says abruptly. "We should go out."

"Okay." Kuroko flops forward, and promptly buries his face into the back of Kagami's shoulder. "… You know I really love you, right?" It's taken years to be able to say that with a bit more ease, and it's _still_ difficult, but now really isn't the time to be concerned with his own… less-than-American shortcomings.

Kagami blinks. He must look _really_ upset if Kuroko's gone _there_, and aloud, and when he knows Kagami's awake, no less. A tiny smile tugs on Kagami's face, and he reaches back, grabbing Kuroko's hand and squeezing it. "Yeah. I love you, too." Just because he's said it more often doesn't make him any less happy to say it, and right now, that's the kind of thing he really needs. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You're right, it's his loss. He never even got to meet you. Or Nigou."

Kuroko's fingers firmly twine with Kagami's, squeezing tight. "Nigou can bite him a little now, I think," he solemnly says. "But first, we can do dinner things."

"Yeah. I like dinner things. Help me move the boxes downstairs, I'll call….jeez, who do you call when you have to move? Do we know anyone with a car?"

Kuroko pauses, thinking for a moment. "… Takao-kun," he eventually concludes. "It's not a very big car, but Midorima-kun fits, so I think our boxes will."

Kagami snorts. "Yeah, okay. Takao owes me a favor for putting their New Years' lights up when Midorima had the flu anyway. Hey…." He frowns, suddenly curious. "Do you think their folks know? I never asked."

"Takao-kun's mother is very nontraditional and also Korean-sorry, half-Korean," Kuroko mildly corrects himself. "And I think Midorima-kun's parents are still unaware, or pretending to be."

Kagami grunts, nodding, and pulls out his phone, dialing Takao's number. "You're kinda racist, you know."

Kuroko blinks up at him. "Me? But I was just stating a fact."

"Heeey, Kagami-kun!" Kuroko sort of flinches away from the vicinity of the phone on instinct when Takao picks up on the second ring. "What's up? Do you know how long it's been since we heard from you and Kuroko-kun? Well, Shin-chan's sort of happy about it, but he's grumpy, his opinion never counts-"

"Oi," Kagami interrupts, knowing Takao won't take offense. He never takes offense to being interrupted, which is good, because then no one would ever get a word in edgewise. "I want to borrow your car today. If you're attached to it that's okay."

"Oh!" Takao pauses, thinking. "No, that's fine, actually. Shin-chan can walk, he can use the exercise and socialization. I can just drop it off at your place, if you want? I've got stuff to do this afternoon, anyway. Just don't run it into anything, if you can help it-my dad's cranky with me right now, says he won't buy me a new one if I mess it up. I'd like to keep it in working order until he changes his mind."

Kagami tries not to roll his eyes when Takao's being so helpful. "Thanks, that means a lot. Hey, do you think I could maybe keep it for a couple of days? Or maybe drop some stuff off at your place for a night, you guys have all that extra space."

"You moving or something?" is the curious poke in response. "You're welcome to leave stuff at our place if you want-ah, but hey, the guy that helped us out last time was great. He can come pick up your shit whenever and move it to your new place, want me to call him for you?"

"Can he pick it up today?" Kagami asks, inwardly wincing. "And how much does he cost?"

"Ehh, he owes me one, I'll make him do it for free. Hey, if you're moving, then you're totally not cooking-let's go out to eat, double date!"

Kuroko vehemently mouths the word _No_.

Kagami looks at Kuroko, stomach growling, and makes a pleading face. _But Takao always pays_, he mouths back, suddenly pretty sure he's about to die of starvation in the next twenty seconds.

Kuroko heaves a long sigh, and nods in resignation.

Takao, of course, keeps cheerfully going without hesitation. "It can be a housewarming gift for your new place! Or something-whatever, you pick the restaurant!"

"Uokane," Kagami says instantly. In his mind, he's already seeing the menu, including most of the dishes he usually skips over. "Uh, we don't really….have a new place, yet. We're going looking tomorrow. See you at the restaurant?"

"Oh, I'll bring some listings, then. My mom considers herself a real estate agent now when she's in Tokyo," Takao says with a laugh. "See you there!"

"Takao-kun is magical," Kuroko says with a slow tilt of his head. "I think."

"Whatever gets us there," Kagami says, tossing Kuroko his coat and grabbing his own. "We should be okay as long as the stuff is out of here by morning, I think. He was talking about calling the police, but I'm not sure if he's really that mad." He'd _sounded_ that mad.

"Kagami-kun, you're _friends_ with the police," Kuroko mildly points out, shrugging his coat on. "He's not going to get anywhere if he does that."

"I'm not wearing my work clothes to dinner," Kagami grumbles, locking the door behind him, uncomfortably aware of how few times he's going to do that from now on. "Ah, I'm already thinking of the fish sauce they use at Uokane. I'm gonna put it on everything, I think."

"Mm. You can put it on my food, too, I know I won't be able to eat all of it." Kuroko glances back at the apartment door. "I won't miss the stairs," he says resolutely. "At all. Can we get something that doesn't require a lot of climbing? The balcony was nice, but honestly…"

"Yeah, that would be nice." Kagami sets off down the street after the stairs in question, resolutely not looking at all the nearby landmarks he's going to miss. "Maybe somewhere near a basketball court, that would be nice. Or we could get a place with a gym, that would save us on membership every month."

"It sounds like Takao-kun will be able to help us find something… he was a lot more helpful than I expected." Kuroko slowly tips to the side, resting his head against Kagami's shoulder as they walk. "Also," he quietly adds, "this will actually be _our _place. So it'll be better that way."

Kagami looks up and down the street, then slowly brings his arm up around Kuroko's waist. It's still a stupid idea, they could both lose their jobs, but right now it feels like it's worth it. "Definitely better. And we can put up all the photos we want." There had always been a fear, before, that his father would come home.

"Even the one where Kagami-kun is holding our child. Please admit that you enjoy it when Nigou drools on you."

"You just want me to hold him at the vet because he weighs more than you now."

"Yes. But I also know you secretly like it. Just admit it from now on, that seems much less difficult."

"Hey, look, we're here!" Even if he's long ago given up insisting that he doesn't like the dog, there's no way he's gonna _say_ it out loud. Kagami waves, catching Takao's eye. "Stop talking about the dog like he's our son in front of people. They're gonna look at me creepy when I talk about the leash again."

"It sounded like Takao-kun was taking Midorima-kun out for walks on a leash, though."

"Ahh, perfect timing!" Takao cheerfully greets, waving as he trots over. "We just got here as well." Kuroko checks-pink barrettes tonight. He's fairly certain some of his students wear those, but he decides not to comment on it. "I texted my mom, by the way-she's gonna e-mail me some listings for you guys, did you have a price range in mind?"

Kagami slides into the booth, already reaching for a menu. "Ah, something under seventy grand? I think…" He looks at Kuroko to make sure. "We could probably go as high as ninety, but it would have to have no stairs and a gym. Oh, and it has to allow dogs. Hi, Midorima."

If Kagami isn't incorrect, Midorima looks far more grumpy than usual. "Kagami. Kuroko."

"Shin-chan, don't be so cranky," Takao complains as he flops down next to him, giving the other man a hard nudge with his elbow. "And that's probably not gonna happen in the same area you guys are in now-but you must already know that, right?"

"Hello, Midorima-kun." Yes, he is definitely grumpier than usual, Kuroko observes. "If there's anything closer to the station… or even the school that I work at…"

"Ehh, she'll find something. Wish I had known earlier, I could've already had a place lined up for you," Takao sighs, propping his chin into his hands.

"It's fine," Kagami says, reaching over Midorima to push the button that summons the server. He might have pushed it twice, it's possible. "We'll just be at a hotel for a few nights, no big deal."

"Takao can find you something, of course," Midorima says, pushing his glasses up his nose. "He's quite skilled at doing everything absolutely perfectly."

"Oi," Takao growls, turning his head to glower at Midorima. "Are you gonna keep doing that _all night?_"

"Did something happen?" Kuroko politely asks. It's probably hilarious, knowing Midorima's overreactions.

"Nothing happened, according to Takao." Midorima takes a sip of water, looking resolutely in front of him, and down at the table. "If you consider nothing at all to apply to blatant plagarism on an important test."

"Shin-chan is mad that I got a higher score than him," Takao explains with a roll of his eyes. "This is why we don't take classes together. Never again, I _mean it_ this time."

"You're the one who _insisted_ you needed this class to graduate," Midorima snaps. "If you truly achieved a higher grade on the test, say it. You _know_ you got a worse grade than I did, you _know_ Nabatome-sensei changed it."

"Ehh, maybe she did, maybe she didn't. It's not my fault she likes me more than you. You should be more charming, I know you have it in you."

Midorima glares at him. "If you cared as much about getting your answers correct as you do about being _liked_, you'd be in the top five percent of the class! You have more potential than this!"

"Shin-chan is so _naggy_ tonight, do you guys see what I live with?" Takao forlornly sighs, swirling his straw around in his soda. "Being _liked_ gets me lots of recommendations! I'm going to need those, I'm not gonna be all super creepy weird specialist like you wanna be!"

The nice thing about going out to dinner with Takao and Midorima, besides the free food, is knowing that no matter what weird nonsense Kuroko says sometimes they're not _this_ bad. Kagami finally manages to flag down a waitress, orders half the menu, and turns back to watch.

"Excelling would also get you recommendations," Midorima says cooly. "It isn't easy to become a specialist. It's impossible without a level of excellence that I, fortunately, strive every day to attain."

"Okay, but being a pediatrician requires _social skills_. All the people you've gotta deal with are going to be _unconscious._"

"That sounds like something Midorima-kun will be much better at," Kuroko very seriously replies.

Midorima nods at Kuroko. "Whether you meant that as an insult or a compliment, I agree entirely. My skills are highly technical in nature, and it wouldn't do to be interrupted. Also, I understand most people in need of reconstructive hand surgery dislike witnessing the process."

Takao groans, tilting his head back in aggravation. "_At any rate_, it isn't my fault that our professors like me and possibly think my answers are better. Don't be so bitchy."

"Yes, they _like_ you so much they're willing to forgive an inferior treatment for a subdural hematoma." Midorima pinches the bridge of his nose, then mutters, "You would have had a ninety-two percent with all the answers you actually put down. I had a ninety-eight. You _know_ you didn't deserve a perfect score, and you took it anyway."

"Shin-chan, I swear to god. It's _two points_. _You need to let this go._"

"Do you ever feel very glad that we aren't in school any more, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko mildly asks.

"Mm," Kagami agrees. "Right now especially. But you're in school every day."

"Yes," Midorima says, latching on to that topic. "How does it go, educating tomorrow's brightest minds, Kuroko? Do you wipe a lot of noses?"

"It's not the same kind of school," Kuroko mildly tells Kagami before he turns his attention half-heartedly to Midorima. "We have a very strict policy about illness and our students, actually, so no. But I hear med students clean out a great deal of colostomy bags, I'm sure that's very educational and a dozen times more disgusting."

Midorima shudders so hard Kagami thinks for a moment he's having some kind of post-war flashback. "It's just human waste," he mutters, apparently more to himself than anything. "Just human waste. Just human waste."

"Ahh, now you've got him started," Takao sighs, giving Midorima a solid pat on the shoulder when his phone dings. "Oh! Here you go," he says, flipping through to the listings his mother sent over before passing the phone over to Kagami. "Have a look-see. If something catches your eye, she can arrange a showing tomorrow for you two."

Kagami raises his eyebrows, flipping through. "These are really nice-they're really in Tokyo? Kuroko, look, I like this one." He passes the phone over, just in time for the food to start arriving, and then he's not talking for several minutes anyway.

Midorima looks between them, then asks, "Why the sudden move? I thought you liked your apartment."

"This one does look nice," Kuroko murmurs, slowly thumbing through the pages as the waitress sets his food down. "We're moving because Kagami-kun's father has decided he no longer wants to lease the place out to us." It's neutral enough that a passerby would think nothing of it, but Takao and Midorima…

"...Oh." Takao sits back, blinking. "Well. That sucks. I thought it was bad when my dad told me he'd have rather me gotten a 16 year old pregnant like he did." He looks over at Midorima, batting his eyelashes. "Would you have carried my baby, Shin-chan?"

"Find someone willing to deliver that abomination and we'll talk," Midorima says calmly, by now used to Takao's stranger ways. He takes a bite of fish, chews slowly and swallows, then says, "Perhaps it's better to be simply ignored after all. I could take being ignored over the way Takao's mother acts. Compared to that, I prefer my parents' practice of referring to him as my ….friend every time."

"Ellipses _always_ included," Takao dryly says, twirling his chopsticks. "But, whatever. There are far worse things. And don't get too bitchy about my mom, she just wants to take us shopping in Paris. And you know, also fuck you. Hey, our kids would be really cute, right? Shin-chan #2 and Shin-chan #3, those are their names."

"Sort of like Nigou," Kuroko absently notes, attention on apartments and occasionally nibbling at his food.

Kagami exchanges a look with Midorima, a look that says, _We probably should have found someone more normal, but these are now our fates._ Kagami turns back to the food, moving on to a steak and prawn pizza (the abomination), and Midorima turns to Kuroko. "What about your parents? Not that I care, but the rest of us have divulged some sort of personal information."

"They don't know." Really, that's all that needs to be said as far as he's concerned.

"They're _gonna_ find out," Takao carefully says as he reaches over to steal a piece of fish from Midorima's plate that's been pushed to the side. "That's a thing that happens."

"No matter how careful you think you are," Midorima agrees, casually placing another bit of fish next to the first one. "Family has a way of investigating crevices you don't think you've left open."

"Not all family," Kagami mutters, frowning slightly. "My dad wouldn't have known if I didn't tell him."

Midorima blinks. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he's my family, and I thought he'd want….never mind, I was wrong." Kagami stuffs an entire slice of terrible pizza in his mouth, resentful.

"I'm not going to let them find out," is Kuroko's quietly resolute response. "It's just better if they don't."

"Ehh, well, just trying to warn you," Takao dismisses with a shrug, eating that piece of fish, too. "Either way, if something comes up and you need some help again, just give me a call, all right? Shit happens, we've got your back. Don't we, Shin-chan?"

"Friends shouldn't need to say such embarrassing things out loud," Midorima says by way of agreeing, even if his cheeks flush a bit and he bends over his food.

"Shin-chan is so _cute_ when he's being tsun."

"We really do appreciate it." Even if Midorima is normally intolerable at best, tonight seems to be an exception. "Ah… Kagami-kun, did you see any others you liked in here?" Kuroko asks, giving the other man a poke in the shoulder when Kagami pauses his eating to breathe.

"The third one," Kagami says, "and the tenth one, I like the location of those the best. I like the fifth one a lot, but I think it's too expensive for us." He pretends not to notice the way Midorima sits and shifts awkwardly, obviously moving to try and hold Takao's hand under the table. Really, no _wonder_ their parents had found out.

"Gimme," Takao says, and Kuroko passes the phone over. "My mom's kind of a miracle worker when she actually does her job-she might be able to get you a deal or something, but no promises. You guys free tomorrow to go look at them?"

"I just pulled four double-shifts," Kagami says, pausing only to down a discarded vegetable from Kuroko's plate. "I'm off until next week, and he's usually got weekends free." He nudges Kuroko with his shoulder. "Which one did you like? We don't have to get my favorites, you get a choice too."

Kuroko nudges back. "The tenth one didn't have stairs. Bonus points."

"I'll let my mom know, then. Umm, and you knooow, we have a spare room." Takao stuffs a shrimp into his mouth. "If you don't wanna do the hotel thing, that is. Hotels are grungy. Shin-chan even likes dogs."

"They're not nearly as evil as cats." That's about as close to praise and acceptance as Midorima gets.

Kagami shrugs, looking at Kuroko to see his opinion. "It would save money, I guess." _Can you handle them for a whole night?_

"It _would_ save a lot of money…" Kuroko hedges.

"Oi, don't make this about money. We're _very_ pleasant company," Takao grumps. "Now you're not _allowed_ to argue, you're staying with us."

Kagami shrugs. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. I'd offer to return the favor sometime, but you guys always seem pretty on top of stuff like this."

"Nevertheless, I'll consider that an offer," Midorima says, sipping his water. "Though it is unlikely ever to be redeemed, the offer stands in place of a reciprocated favor. So as long as we _could_ stay at your apartment, even though we all know we never will, you owe us nothing."

Kagami raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, I wasn't….really worried."

Takao gives Midorima a pat on the shoulder. "That was a good attempt, Shin-chan. Have you gotten over being cranky over my perfect score, then?"

Kuroko briefly wonders if it's worth the money after all.

"Don't pat me, I'm not a dog," Midorima snaps, slapping Takao's hand away. "You have fish sauce on your fingers. I wouldn't have been angry in the first place if you'd just _admitted_ it was blatant favoritism that got you a better score."

"But if I did that, then I'd be signing my soul over to the fact that every lady professor wants to bone me, and most of the guys do, too," Takao says with a grin, resting his chin in his hands. "And then Shin-chan would get even _pissier_ because he'd get jealous."

"Liar! I wouldn't get jealous. I don't get jealous. I never get jealous." Midorima eats a too-large bite, muttering, "Jealousy is for people who don't trust their partners. Or who don't think well of themselves."

"Definitely not you, then," Kagami says under his breath.

"Shin-chan sounds like he's trying to talk himself out of being jealous already," Takao hums. "Although I'm mortally offended that you don't trust me." He keeps eating. "Shin-chan is very, very cruel."

Midorima stares at him for a second, then pushes his plate away. "I'm smarter than all our professors anyway," he says, more than a hint of bitterness in his tone. "If they excelled as much as they think they do, they'd be doctors instead of professors. No offense, Kuroko."

"Midorima-kun is as … Midorima-kun-ish as ever," Kuroko _calmly_ says.

"Mm, he never changes," Takao happily says, taking a last bite from his own plate. "If you two are done, we can go ahead and head out-umm, I dunno if all of us _and_ boxes will fit in my car, so I can just get my guy to pick that stuff up separately. Oh, and your dog, too. We'll make him fit somehow."

"We're good at fitting," Kagami volunteers. "Kuroko can sit on my lap and Nigou can sit on his. We've done it before, and we don't have too much stuff, maybe four boxes. Most of the stuff in our place is my dad's. We're gonna have to get like, a lot of stuff."

"Perfect," Midorima says, pushing back his chair and wiping his mouth delicately with a napkin. "I've been looking for an opportunity to get rid of things. Takao has too much clutter."

"Ah, _rude_, Shin-chan! You're just _spartan_, there's a _difference_." Takao huffs, fishing out his wallet. "But I guess spring cleaning wouldn't be such a bad idea…"

"Just don't take the lucky items."

"Don't worry," Kagami assures him wryly, shrugging on his coat, "we won't. Takao, you don't have to pay for that all by yourself-"

"Nonsense," Midorima cuts in, slapping Kagami's hand when it reaches halfheartedly for his wallet. "Don't pretend you want to pay. It might be acceptable social convention, but we don't require it."

Kagami scowls, putting away his wallet. "You could at least appreciate the gesture."

"I thought I was."

Takao rolls his eyes, stepping away with the bill to pay. He does, at least, wait until they're out of the restaurant to more seriously add: "You're not gonna make this a money thing. Either of you," he says, waving at both Kagami or Kuroko. "Shin-chan and I are both really lucky, and you're our friends, so the least we can do is help you out a bit. I don't even wanna _think_ what it would be like if my parents cut me off like that."

"… Takao-kun is very generous," Kuroko quietly says, huddling down into his coat. "It's a little…"

"Nope, don't start. Hey, if you go through my mom to rent your new place, you can consider the commission she gets fair trade. Just, uh. Fair warning, she's kind of…" _Hyper_ is probably the best word for it, though Midorima has used some other, choice ones before.

"Enthusiastic," Midorima supplies. "Like her son." He flushes when the others look at him, and mutters, "That wasn't supposed to be a compliment. You can all walk into traffic now." God, tonight he feels like he's in high school again.

"Wow, I thought Shin-chan was gonna say something _way_ worse," Takao says with a grin, and promptly latches onto the taller man's arm to pull him along. _Enthusiastically._ "To the car! And then dog and boxes and to Hotel Midoritaka."

"… What would our hotel be?" Kuroko mildly asks Kagami, glancing up at him. "Our names don't fit together as nicely, I don't think…"

"I think Kagakuro sounds good enough," Kagami says a little defensively, sort of wishing he had the easy charm to be able to grab Kuroko's arm in public and not have anyone think anything of it. "Fire and shadow go well together if you just want to use those characters, too."

Once they're slightly out of earshot, Midorima leans over and murmurs in Takao's ear, "I thought you'd put your name first tonight. Or am I not reading your moods right?"

Takao just laughs, shrugging. "Midoritaka rolls off the tongue better," he says without batting an eye. "And Shin-chan is really awful; they're gonna be in the next room over, you know."

"Mmnn." Kuroko's head flops to the side against Kagami's shoulder. "Maybe Kurogami is better, that sounds sinister. Maybe it's a ghost hotel."

"They're talking about ghosts," Midorima says quietly. "Maybe they'll think our apartment is haunted." The idea of someone hearing is something he swears, swears until anyone but Takao would believe him, he doesn't like.

"Why would we want to run a ghost hotel? How about Kogami, then it can be a child god hotel. That's better than ghosts, anyway."

"Ah, yes, ghosts that scream out my name, how frightening," Takao sighs out.

"I like ghosts," Kuroko defensively says. "It's not my fault Kagami-kun is afraid of them."

"Why are we all talking about ghosts?" Takao asks a bit more loudly, unlocking his car with a click once they reach it in the garage. "Never mind, we're all weird, I guess."

"We did a Halloween prank once in middle school," Midorima remembers, climbing into the front seat. "Kuroko was extremely effective at convincing certain students and teachers the school was haunted."

As soon as Kagami slides in, he drapes an arm around Kuroko, the tension of _wanting_ to all through dinner melting away. "Doesn't surprise me. What were you, the walking skeleton?"

Kuroko promptly snuggles up into Kagami's side. "I think Midorima-kun declined to participate. Or maybe he was creepy sound effects."

"Shin-chan can be pretty creepy. Hey, Kuroko-kun, how do you manage not to freak your students out? Seriously doubt you've got a room full of hawk eye prodigies."

"I've gotten better at making my presence known." Considering how he sort of blends in against Kagami's side, tucked underneath his coat, that's a questionable retort.

"When he wants to," Kagami clarifies. "Besides, it's different when he's the teacher, because he's always the center of attention."

"That makes sense," Midorima allows. "It isn't as though people forget him in the middle of conversation. And an entire room of knee-height Takaos would be horrific, please never bring that idea up again."

"Shin-chan is the worst, I was a lovely child," Takao huffs, peeling out of the garage in short order. "I was friendly and well-behaved and _nothing_ like my sister, she's bad."

"She is bad," Midorima agrees. "She's as bad as mine. Kuroko's sisters are much more well-behaved, they never used to come to matches and embarrass us."

"They're pharmacists," Kuroko says, as if that's the eighth deadly sin.

"Shin-chan's sister is cute. She thinks I'm a Korean pop star," Takao wryly tosses over his shoulder. "I humor her, because at least I'm not 'Shintarou-nii-san's …friend' to her. Okay, I'm totally gonna park illegally, so you two get your stuff fast."

Kagami doesn't take more than five minutes to move all the boxes, strategically handing Kuroko the light one and carrying the other three stacked up by himself, worming around them into the backseat, stacking Kuroko and Nigou up onto his lap. "That's all of it." He chews on his bottom lip, asking Kuroko quietly, "You think I should give him the keys back? Doesn't make much sense to mail them to L.A."

"If you mail 'em, you're making a point," Takao mildly butts in, glancing over his shoulder before pulling into traffic. "Which, in this case.."

"Mm," Kuroko noncommittally supplies, half-burying his face down into Nigou's back.

"I think he's the one who made a point," Kagami mutters, "by saying he'd call the cops if we weren't out by morning. How did you tell your folks and make them...you know, not freak out?"

Takao winces outright at that. "Sorry your dad's such a jerk about it." Maybe it doesn't make it better, but he _does_ sympathize. "Honestly, I got lucky. My mom doesn't give a damn, and actually tried to make me move to France because she thought I'd be happier there," he admits with a roll of his eyes. "It took my dad a bit longer to find out… but uh, that was awkward. He was really, really mad at first, but I guess I can't blame him, considering how he, ah, found out."

"I just think that even if you own a house, it's still polite to knock first," Midorima says stiffly. "And he's very lucky I didn't hit him back."

Kagami grimaces at that. "What were you in the middle of?"

"Nothing we wanted interrupted."

"Yeeeah, let's not even go there," Takao bemoans, slumping over the steering wheel. "Ahh, he was so mad. My mom talked him down, though. His exact words were 'so your mother has told me I have to accept this.' Whatever, I'll take it."

"I wish my-" Kagami cuts that off before he can say it. That's _not_ anything he wants to talk about in this company. It's not anything he's even mentioned to Kuroko, and in the five years they've been together, Kuroko's never asked. "Is he still paying for your apartment?"

"We each receive an allowance. That will stop, of course, once we finish medical school, and we can start paying into our parents' retirement." Midorima notices the slip, but for once, doesn't comment.

"Shin-chan's parents are just weird about it," Takao segues with a laugh. "I thought for sure they'd be _awful_, but they really just pretend it isn't a thing at all, and try to make him date girls all the time. Ahh, remember that one time when you _had to_, Shin-chan? Most awkward two hours _ever_."

"My parents keep trying to set me up with girls," Kuroko quietly puts in, voice muffled into the dog. "I don't feel right humoring them, though. Girls tend to act like Momoi-san around me…"

"Hard life of Kuroko Tetsuya, the heart throb," Takao laughs. "You do sort of have that way about you, don't you?"

"He does." Kagami butts his head into the back of Kuroko's neck, squeezing him tight around the waist. "I've seen Midorima on a date with you, Takao. I don't want to imagine how he'd be with girls."

"Less pleasing," Midorima deadpans.

"Shin-chan is really sweet with me, what are you talking about?" Takao replies with a grin. "Ahh, it was sort of cute, though. Shin-chan tried really hard to be nice! I took his sister out for ice cream at the same time, _she_ had a good time."

"It isn't my fault she didn't appreciate perfectly delightful conversation about reconstructive hand surgery."

"Not the right girl at all for you, Shin-chan, if she can't appreciate long recitations of all those nitpicky little capillaries."

"… Has Midorima-kun learned to _joke?_ It's weird," Kuroko whispers to Kagami.

"I've never been able to tell when he's serious," Kagami admits. "That goes for all your old friends, actually."

Midorima narrows his eyes. "It isn't as if I wanted her to ask for a second date. Kuroko, I recommend you go out with some girl your mother sets you up with, mothers get very quiet after being told their sons are bad dates."

"But I'm not a bad date and she knows it. Even if I try to be a bad date, girls seem to like it anyway…" Kuroko shudders, the flashbacks of Momoi too strong to suppress.

"Try talking about surgery," Midorima advises. "Or in your case, I don't know, childhood diseases that cause diarrhea."

Takao sputters, trying _not_ to drive off the road as he cracks up. "I dunno, Shin-chan. I bet Kuroko-kun has a tooon of lady teachers after him, they'd probably like that he's so concerned about all the bitties."

"Definitely," Kuroko forlornly says, flopping uselessly back against Kagami's chest. "I give up."

"They get way too aggressive," Kagami mutters. "They touch you _way_ too much. You have to be a lot stricter about standing up for yourself and telling them to stop, I told you."

"… I'm not very good at that with women."

"And I bet all the little girls wanna marry Kuroko-sensei, too, huh?" Takao snickers, pulling into the garage next to the complex. "Ahh, Kagami-kun, your life must be suffering to watch that."

"The only people who want to marry me are the little old ladies whose cats get stuck on top of buildings and trees," Kagami says, urging Nigou and Kuroko off his lap, stacking up the boxes in his hands.

The burden lessens suddenly, and he looks over the top of one box, seeing Midorima heft one of the large crates full of books like it's nothing. "The doorways here are low," he says, leading the way. "You wouldn't fit through them carrying three boxes."

"Shin-chan has to duck sometimes, it's cute when he forgets." Takao hums, swiping their access card to open up the door. "Don't worry, there's an elevator. I'm getting the impression you're sick of stairs," he teases Kuroko.

"After being on my feet all day with lots of children… yes," Kuroko says without hesitation. "I am very sick of stairs."

"I'm just getting used to the pole," Kagami says with a grin. "Seems like such a waste of time to go down all those stairs now when you can just slide."

He ducks when Midorima does, and mentions, "I thought you'd have lost some of that muscle when you gave up playing basketball after college."

"Nonsense. It's important to me to have a fit body. To Takao as well." A second's hesitation, and he asks, "Do you still play?"

"Kind of. I coach a youth league after work, a few days a week."

"We should meet up and play some two-on-two sometime! Ah, though, we'd win," Takao can't help but challenge with a smirk, prodding the elevator and holding the door open while the rest of them follow.

"I'm a little out of practice," Kuroko concedes. "Though Nigou might be a worthy opponent."

"We'll get back in practice," Kagami promises, nudging Kuroko's shoulder. "Now that we're done with school and training we've got a lot more time. Two on two sounds awesome."

"I hope you won't let us triple your score."

Kagami only refrains from punching Midorima because he's got an armful of boxes.

"Maybe Midorima-kun will be grateful if we triple his."

"Ahh, I'm too full of food for posturing to that degree, be good, all of you," Takao whines, stepping out of the elevator and going to unlock their door. "Just throw the boxes in the spare room, Shin-chan will show you where it is-ugh, I'm even more glad we didn't let my little sister stay now, what a pain that would've been."

"It would have been a pain regardless." In response to Kagami's _look_, Midorima says defensively, "She always tries to paint my nails. She has a stare that makes it difficult to decline. Here, this way."

Kagami sets the boxes down, straightening up with a low whistle. "This place is unbelievable. How much do you pay for this?"

"More than a teacher and a fireman can afford," Midorima says without malice. "I suppose you may make yourselves at home. The guest room has a bathroom there, and a small garden for reflective purposes out those doors."

"Honestly, I wish we had somewhere a liiiittle bit smaller," Takao lowly confides to Kuroko. "Then Shin-chan wouldn't have as much space to keep _his_ clutter."

"Ah." Kuroko can certainly believe that. "I'm sorry in advance-Nigou is rather used to being allowed on the furniture…"

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. The maid'll just have a bit more to vacuum up this week." Takao trots off after Midorima, tossing over his shoulder: "Seriously though, make yourselves at home. There are a lot of drinks in the fridge and you can help yourself to whatever you wanna munch on."

Nigou takes the cue, hopping up neatly onto a couch, and Kuroko settles for blinking up at Kagami. "This is better than a hotel," he simply says.

Kagami has to sit down, a little floored. "I knew your old friends had money," he admits, "and it's not like I grew up broke, but this place is ridiculous. I didn't know there were places like this in Tokyo, we could play a full game of basketball in this apartment." He absently reaches over, ruffling Nigou's ears, though the dog comes away disappointed when his hands don't have a treat.

"Midorima-kun is very old money," Kuroko slowly says, plopping down onto Kagami's lap without hesitation. "And I always knew Takao-kun was wealthy, but…" He blinks, gazing upwards and around, wide-eyed. "How much do you think this _costs?_" he lowly asks.

"No clue," Kagami admits. "A few million every month? God, they have a real garden. Like, a _garden_." He peers out the door, then nuzzles down into Kuroko's neck. "Think it's too late for me to go to medical school?"

"Maybe not. Or maybe you should join the NBA. Kise-kun tells me Aomine-kun is disgustingly wealthy." Kuroko tilts his head back to stare at Kagami. "Being disgusting sounds fun."

"It does, doesn't it?" Kagami hesitates, then offers, "I could take the JBL up on their offer. I've still got a few weeks left, I could make a lot more money."

"But you didn't seem happy about that before," Kuroko points out, laying his head back against Kagami's shoulder. "You know I don't really mind either way. I don't want you to do something just for the money."

"If I was gonna do something for the money," Kagami says, nibbling gently on Kuroko's ear, "I'd have gone to UCLA and played for the Lakers. Or-not that I'd want to ask him for a favor, but Tatsuya knows some people, he'd get me an audition if I asked. I don't think you want to move to America, though. And if I'm not there…." He shrugs. "After our senior year, I wasn't too impressed with the JBL."

"I don't really have anything to do in America," Kuroko notes with a sigh, eyes lidded as he slowly twists himself around in Kagami's lap to face him. "If you don't want to play with the JBL, then don't. It's not worth it if you don't like it, and we'll make _enough_ money, besides."

"Maybe we can just make nice with your weird friends and live in their guest room."

"That's a good idea in theory, but I think Midorima-kun and I would eventually murder one another."

Kagami steals a kiss, a soft brush of lips, hands gentle on Kuroko's waist. "It was a joke. I don't think I could handle them all day, every day."

"We're never home."

Kagami looks up, startled, at Midorima in the doorway, arms full of clean towels. "Just so you know," he adds, looking anywhere but at them. "Tonight was an anomaly. Usually both of us sleep at the hospital for a few hours. Residency is somewhat painful."

"Like, the worst," Takao chimes in with a groan, sort of half-climbing up Midorima's back to peer over his shoulder. "So, actually… huh. Well, Dad would probably be happy to see the maid bill go away. And Kagami-kun, you cook, right? Occasionally, food is good, on the one day when one of us is actually among the living."

"I…" Kagami looks at Kuroko, helpless. "Tell them I wasn't serious."

"Honestly, if one of you would pick up the house from time to time, I wouldn't care whether you stayed." Which is about as close to _you can live here rent-free_ as Midorima's likely to get.

"I can clean things." Kuroko looks back at Kagami, shrugging. _Why look a gift horse in the mouth? _

"Yep, it's decided, then," Takao says with a yawn. "You live here. Well, unless you get sick of it or whatever. If you have Shin-chan's approval, you definitely have mine."

Kagami looks between Takao, Midorima, and Kuroko, then throws up his hands. "Yeah, whatever. I'm not going to be your_ personal chef_-"

"One meal a week," Midorima says firmly. "I don't even _like_ eating in, I much prefer going out, but Takao says our house will burn down if we neglect the kitchen, and I'm not going to chance that happening." He pauses, then adds, "I apologize in advance for anything I may say or do when coming in after a four-day shift."

"Hehhh, Shin-chan gets _really_ weird," Takao giggles, sort of dangling off of Midorima's arm at this point. "You guys will probably laugh, assuming he doesn't try and stab things."

Midorima peers at Takao, then nods. "We're going to sleep. Don't mind the alarm, if you can hear it. I need it loud to wake me. We'll be gone when you wake up, probably every day. I'll make you keys tomorrow."

"… Thank you, Midorima-kun, Takao-kun," Kuroko softly says, sort of half-slinking his way down against Kagami in obvious relief.

"Sleeps," Takao agrees, using his dangling status to sort of drag Midorima back off to the bedroom.

Kagami butts his head gently against Kuroko's. "Are you sure you're okay with this? We _can_ afford our own place, if we don't mind it being tiny and not doing much stuff that costs money. I know you and Midorima don't always get along."

"He seems to have mellowed out quite a bit," Kuroko eventually settles upon. "Otherwise I would agree with you. I think I would have much more trouble living with someone like Kise-kun at this point, you know? But Midorima-kun seems to be doing much better and is a lot happier. And, especially if he isn't here terribly often, I think it will be fine."

Kagami starts to argue, then shrugs. "It's _really_ close to the station," he admits. "And with the money we're saving you could afford to take a taxi every day, and we'd _still_ come out ahead. And….damn, Kuroko, it has a _garden_. In _Tokyo_. Just until we save up some money, yeah?"

"Mm. That's the idea," Kuroko agrees, flopping his arms around Kagami's shoulders. "And we can also hang up all the pictures we want in our bedroom, and I bet it's _still_ bigger than any apartment we'd be able to get on our own right now."

"True enough. And it has a _garden_." Kagami bites his lip, looking to the side. "Did you see the kitchen? Those countertops? And the natural light in here is so easy to shut off, that's great for when I've been working two days straight." He kisses Kuroko's cheek. "I take it back. Your friends are pretty awesome."

Nigou barks in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

Kise tells everyone except Aomine.

That's really all there is to do, when it comes down to it. He _wants_ Aomine at his premier, wants him there probably as much as he wants anyone else there, and he hasn't spent as much time in Aomine's bed as he has without getting to know the guy. Aomine is proud, and angry, and nurses old wounds worse than an old soldier.

So he invites Aomine, and invites Kuroko, and Kagami, and Midorima, and Murasakibara, and Akashi, and only tells a few of them that they're _all_ coming. He tells Akashi, because it'll get him here, and Murasakibara, because he won't care. Kuroko, he tells that he's inviting all his Japan-based friends, and doesn't elaborate. Aomine, he tells nothing, and lets him assume he's inviting no one. It's a dangerous game, but it's the American premiere of his first Hollywood film, and if it's worth buying ten first-class tickets from Japan, it's worth a few white lies of omission.

At least he doesn't make Aomine host a party. That he does himself, making sure Aomine is nice and liquored up before they go, just in case. If he _does_ start swinging at Kagami, at least this way Kagami will have a fighting chance, and they'll all be able to laugh it off later (maybe).

He arrives with Aomine, because fuck everyone who thinks they shouldn't. Also, no one cares, because they're both Asians famous in the USA, and on the basis of that alone Kise's been asked a hundred times if he knows Miami Heat power forward Aomine Daiki. Kise poses for a thousand photographs, both with Aomine and alone, before tossing his suit jacket over one shoulder and heading in to the private viewing balcony. He spots the heads-five of them, all different colors, all different heights, and prepares for a fight. "Hey, guys! Look who's here!"

Kuroko takes exactly one look at Aomine before _calmly_ taking his drink from Kagami's hand, downing it back, and turning on his heel, heading straight out the nearest door.

"What the fuck," Aomine eloquently says, immediately turning a glare on Kise. "So were you just not gonna tell me you invited him and-ugh, _everyone?_ Jesus, it's been awhile, I think all of you grew except-" Akashi. Ah. Never mind, not saying things. Far more disturbing is the fact Kuroko just turned tail and _ran_. He's not fucking fixing that; that is _not_ what he planned on this evening.

"Goddamn _drama_ queens," Kise mutters under his breath, leaping over Kuroko's chair and chasing him down, made a bit easier by the fact that the door Kuroko had "escaped" out of only leads to the nearest bathroom. He locks the door before Kuroko can realize that and leave another way, leaning back against it. "I _thought_ you might not come if I told you," he admits. "I wanted to be wrong."

The glare Kuroko sets upon him is rather akin to a cornered and very, _very_ angry cat. "If you had told me," he flatly says, "I would have at least been _prepared_. As it is, Kise-kun, I am far from drunk enough, _far_ from tolerant enough, and have zero desire to put up with Aomine-kun and _anything_ that comes out of his mouth tonight regarding myself or Kagami-kun."

"_Or_," Kise says with a roll of his eyes, folding his arms in front of his chest, "you could assume he's made some personal growth over the last _six years_. Honestly, Kurokocchi, Dai-Aominecchi's not an angry kid anymore! At least give him a chance, won't you?" he begs, turning on the puppy dog eyes.

"Personal growth," Kuroko deadpans. "That _would_ be why he never contacted me _once_ over the past six years or even attempted to apologize for being a completely horrible person on several occasions."

"Do I have to beg?" Kise asks, lurching forward to grab Kuroko's hands. "I can't apologize for him, but please, please, pleeeeeeeease don't walk out on my premier, okay? I mean, come on, I flew you ten thousand miles to be here, you can at least ignore him and get drunk. If you're scared of him, _nothing_ is gonna happen, we're _all_ here and he's not _like_ that anymore, he's _happy_ now-"

"Kise-kun-" Kuroko strangles down an annoyed sound that borders on a growl. He's _been_ done with this whole thing from the beginning, to be honest. It isn't that he didn't want to come and support Kise-it's more the knowledge that he knew Kise would pull some sort of stunt like this (though to this extent, not so much), and now that he's here, _ignoring_ Aomine is all but impossible.

Kise seems so _sure_ that Aomine will behave himself, though. That's a new one. And that name slip… "Are you two… a thing?"

Kise blinks, then laughs, though it comes out sounding a little strained. "You mean like you and Kagamicchi? Nah, we're not like that. I just crash at his place whenever I'm in Miami, and we've been shooting and promoting there for a couple years on and off now, so it's sort of natural that….ah, I'm rambling." Kise scratches the back of his head, a little sheepish. "It's not like in high school," he says lamely, as if that clears anything up.

"So then you're _not_ sure he won't try anything," Kuroko mercilessly prods.

"Try anything?" Kise groans, flopping back against the door. "He's not going to jump on you, if that's what you're worried about. He hasn't even mentioned your name in two years, and that time was because I brought it up. Seriously, it would be _good_ for you two to talk a little. You can see what he's like when he's not all…." He waves a hand, trying to encapsulate exactly what Aomine had been in high school.

"Forgive me if I'm not exactly convinced, considering the _last_ time I tried talking to him, he ended up jumping on me."

"He told me he was done with you." Kise folds his arms, trying to make it sound a little less hurtful. "And come on, he's not _stupid_, he's not going to try anything with everyone around, and-look, if you talked to him right now, you'd see how ridiculous it sounds, he's _really_ not like that anymore."

"I don't believe you," Kuroko calmly, but no less bluntly says after a moment's pause. "But I won't leave yet, because I came here to see you. If he does _anything_, though-"

"Then doubtless your giant fireman boyfriend will kill him," Kise points out. "It's not like you're going for a night drive alone with him, god. You don't even have to sit next to him, I just wanted my two best friends to both watch my damn movie with me!"

"Kise-kun," Kuroko patiently reminds him, "we aren't best friends. And Kagami-kun has a lot more restraint than you would think, plus I don't think killing one of the most important players in the NBA right now is a very good idea."

"And _trying anything_ would be really bad for one of the most important players in the NBA," Kise counters. "If nothing else, you know he wouldn't do anything to mess up his chance to be one of the best basketball players in the world in the planet's greatest league, right?"

That holds a bit more merit. Slowly, Kuroko nods his head. "That part I actually believe," he murmurs, eyes lidding. "All right. Fair warning, though, I think you also upset Midorima-kun. He's already tipsy."

"He is?" Kise blinks, unlocking the door behind him. "I don't think I've ever seen him drunk. He was holding it together pretty well even at your twentieth birthday."

"To be fair, he's been a little… out of sorts since med school…" That's an understatement. While Midorima has been _easier_ to deal with, he's also been… well. Perhaps occasionally high as a kite, particularly when he can't sleep.

This is at least progress, and Kise opens the door, watching Kuroko like a hawk in case he tries to bolt. When no one bolts, he beams around at everyone, giving the kind of wide grin that says _nothing's happened, everything's fine! _"Right, they'll be by to get our food orders soon. In the meantime, settle in, the bar's open!"

Aomine moves like a big cat. Kise knows that, and yet still doesn't quite manage not to start when he's suddenly _close_, looming over them. "You, I'll talk to later," he growls, and Kise gives a nervous laugh, heading to see why exactly Midorima is balancing a can of coke on his head.

Aomine looks around, nods curtly to Kagami, acknowledging his glare, and says conversationally, "Yo, Tetsu. You got taller."

"… And you got even taller." Kuroko stares him at him, head slowly tilting to the side. "And your hair got long." More alcohol. He's going to need _a lot more alcohol_. Maybe he'll reach a point like Midorima already has-ah, no, Takao already has his hands full, judging by his sort of nervous chiding, and Kagami isn't so good at dealing with him when he's drunk.

Aomine laughs, a bitter little thing, and downs the rest of the scotch in his glass. "I was gonna hope we could say 'no hard feelings' and play it cool," he says, grimacing as he sets the glass down, and turns to face Kuroko for the first time. "I'm getting the feeling you can't do that."

"You haven't spoken to me in six years," Kuroko quietly points out. "I think there are a lot of hard feelings there, no matter how I try to make that not be the case. Your mother is doing well, by the way."

"She better be, with all the money I send her," Aomine says with a shrug. "And you told me not to contact you. I get it, why you didn't want to come, and that's _fine_, but don't make it all about me being the bad guy. Or just….fuck, I don't know, don't do it tonight. I don't want to mess up Ryouta's big night. Don't tell him I said that."

"You two are definitely dating," Kuroko concludes, gratefully accepting something fruity and pink and about as large as he is from the bartender. "First names and everything. Good. You're a much better match for one another."

"We're not _dating_," Aomine growls. "Everyone in America uses first names. Didn't you learn that in English class? Anyway it was his idea, I just went along because-shit, what the hell is Midorima doing?"

"Takao, I'm _fine_. You _never_ want me to dance. There's _always_ a reason with you."

"Shin-chan, _please_. You're gonna fall over, remember that _last time_-"

"This is his new thing," Kuroko mildly answers, sipping slowly at his drink. "He's very strange and usually a bit drugged and definitely sleep deprived. Anyway, please just admit you are dating. If you do, I will be very amicable for the entire evening as I will consider it insurance."

Aomine glares, and fills up another glass, downing it faster than he probably should. "If it'll keep you shut up, fine, we're dating, but _don't_ tell him. He'll never leave me the fuck alone." It's not fucking true, they're not fucking _dating_, but if it'll get Kuroko to stop being such a prissy bitch about fucking him six years ago, whatever.

The next time he looks over, Midorima is slumped nearly in half on Takao's shoulder, looking troubled. "Give me a pill. I want to be awake for the movie."

"Aka-chin, were our friends always like this?"

"It's really getting harder to tell," Akashi drawls, surveying the scene from his chair.

"Shin-chan, the pills usually put you _to_ _sleep_, not keep you _awake_," Takao hisses, somehow managing to drag him over to a chair and arrange him there neatly. "I _told you_ you didn't need to get this drunk so early-"

"Congratulations on your successful relationship, Aomine-kun," Kuroko offers. "How long has it been? Please don't forget your anniversary, that's a cardinal sin."

Aomine makes a face at Kuroko, kind of wishing he could just reach over and shove him like in the old days. That's probably not a thing he's supposed to do, now. "Offer stands, by the way," he says generously, now that he's got more than a few scotches in him. "Not for sex, that's over, but if you and the big red firetruck you're banging ever want a ticket to a game, I'll hook you up."

"If you're going to invite us, please at least use his name, Aomine-kun." Kuroko wraps both hands around his drink, drawing it closer and taking a long, content sip. Ah, but everything is nicer when there is alcohol. "Thank you, though, I appreciate it. Perhaps when I no longer play the money game with Nigou, we can splurge on plane tickets…"

Aomine blinks. "What the fuck is the money game? Who's Nigou, your live-in cabana boy?"

"Our son. And ah, it's a game Midorima-kun plays when he's mostly sleep-walking. He hides money around the apartment where things need to be cleaned and if I clean everything and find it, I get to keep it." Kuroko takes another long drink. "Mostly, Nigou smells it out."

"Uh…." Aomine looks around, then down at his drink to see if someone spiked it. "Midorima comes into your place and hides money so your kid can smell it? Tetsu, what the fuck."

Kuroko might be enjoying this a bit too much. "Ah. You wouldn't know, would you. We live together-the four of us, that is," he says. "And Nigou. Here." He pulls out his cellphone, and holds it up for Aomine to see the background. "This is Nigou."

Aomine is pretty sure Kuroko had said son, and not dog, but he can let that go. "So Midorima has you picking up his shit for cash? What the _fuck_," he repeats, incredulous. "If you need money so bad you're working as Midorima's goddamn maid, you should just _call_ me, god knows Gatorade pays me way too much."

"… It's kind of a joke, Aomine-kun," Kuroko wryly says, plopping his head down onto his arms. "I'm not his maid, and he's usually not lucid these days. Also, the fact you'd _really_ think I would call you for money is a little much…"

"You're acting," Aomine says slowly, "like I held you for ransom and sent your fingers back to your parents or something. We had sex, it was good, you didn't want more, you left, I went to America, I got over it. If you're really still that pissed with me, fine, go sit over there, I'll sit on the other side, you don't ever have to talk to me again after the movie's over. _Shit_."

"I'm glad you got over it," Kuroko slowly says, glancing over to him, "and I'm glad you're happy now. Honestly, I guess you could say I'm 'over it', too. I suppose I was just hoping for a 'sorry for being a total jackass', or any sort of realization that it wasn't _just_ about sex. Wanting that probably makes you think I'm prissy and obnoxious, though."

"I don't think that." Aomine turns away, grabbing more scotch, because dammit, there's probably not enough in the open bar for tonight. "I was an idiot back then. About a lot of things. You're one of them." He rakes a hand back through loose hair, and finally, _finally_ admits, "I knew I'd be the best you ever had with sex. I thought that might make up for being really shit at everything else you'd want."

Kuroko stares at him for a long, long moment before reaching over and flicking him on the forehead. "That was definitely," he says, "an idiot thing to think and do. Aomine-kun always was good at a lot of things I wanted. You just stopped thinking you were, for some reason. I kept hoping you'd remember, but when you never did…" Kuroko heaves a tiny shrug.

For a second, with that flick, Aomine thinks all the old feelings are going to come back. He half-expects to be buried under the weight of them again, to go to sleep with Tetsu's name on his lips and wake up with morning wood and swearing he's not alone in bed, to think of every dumb thing he's ever done and how he could have done them all different to _keep_ him.

Then, it passes.

He shrugs. "Told you I was dumb. But hey, if you're happy with Kagami, then whatever, it's for the best."

"I'm very happy, thank you." Kuroko turns back to his drink. "And you seem very happy with Kise-kun, so all is well."

Aomine makes a face, but he doesn't argue. "You still play ever?"

"Sometimes. There's a firemen versus doctors thing we started as a joke… Kagami-kun has the JBL begging for him to play for them; Midorima-kun, too, which is very funny when he plays sort of half-asleep…"

Aomine snorts. "I wouldn't have pegged that guy for getting this loopy. What the hell is up with that? Why's he trying to sit on everyone's lap? He looks like he's on drugs."

"Med school," Kuroko says as if that explains everything. It should, really, after everything they've witnessed. "I think he sleeps about 10 hours a week, and it's been like that for a few years now. Ah, he and Takao-kun weren't even going to come, but the hospital where they work actually shut down because of a flu scare among the staff… so they're taking an extended vacation after all of this. They need it. A lot."

"Uh huh." Aomine shrugs. "As long as he doesn't mess up tonight. Where are you all staying, anyway? Are you….look, if you're gonna be in town, we should all play, at least once. Maybe you'll have to go six-on-one and I'll still beat you all, but we should definitely all play."

"Takao-kun will keep him under control. If nothing else, the hotel Kise-kun put us all up in has nicely locking doors that can contain Midorima-kun if he gets a little unruly." Kuroko tilts his head, considering, and takes another long sip from his glass. "If we play like that, Takao-kun and I will just pass back and forth forever and you won't ever be able to score. I might enjoy that."

Aomine's mouth curves in a half-grin. "I think I'd enjoy that, too. In the NBA everyone's out for personal glory, more or less. Shit, I should get all of us to do a practice game against the Heat, tell them I'll forfeit a month's pay if my old team can't beat them. They'd never see you coming."

Maybe it's the fact he's slowly becoming very, very drunk, but that sounds like a rather entertaining idea. "Was that supposed to be a pun?" Kuroko says, twisting to look up at Aomine. "Because of _course_ they won't see me coming. That's the point. I can still do that thing."

Damn it, Tetsu is _really_ not supposed to still be cute. That's not helping Aomine remember how _over him_ he is. "Yeah, man, you can do the thing. If you guys still want to tomorrow and Midorima isn't hungover as all fuck I'll set it up. Tell your boyfriend I'm playing power forward, though."

"You aren't if you can't remember how to catch my passes," Kuroko huffs, downing a sizable amount of his drink… and swaying a little. "And Midorima-kun can still shoot when he's hungover. It's his thing."

"Please," Aomine snorts. "It'll be a sad goddamn day when I can't catch every pass you make." He looks over at Midorima, now staring unblinking at a wall while Takao pets his hair and makes soothing noises. "Hey, not to cut this short, but I haven't caught up with the other guys in years." He reaches out to ruffle Kuroko's hair, realizing afterwards that it's probably a bad idea, and walks off before Kuroko can remind him they're not friends anymore, that he doesn't want anything to do with him.

Kuroko flops around in his seat, swings out a leg, and jabs it into the back of Aomine's knee before he can get too far. "I've decided," he says matter-of-factly, "that I won't be mad at you anymore. Apology accepted. At least, if you can catch my passes."

Part of Aomine lurches at that, wanting, _aching_ so bad for him that he has to swallow around a lump in his throat. He remembers easy childhood flirtations, and those two rough, intense moments when he'd seen the light in Tetsu's eyes when they fucked, and how it had looked when he'd smiled, just for him, and how Tetsu had been the only thing he'd cared about when everything else was crumbling in a pit of loathing….

"I'll catch them," he says, more of a serious promise than it should be. "No matter where you fucking send them."

And he can't look at Kuroko, not right now, not without doing a lot of things he's promised not to. So he vaults over one of the chairs, avoids Kagami's glare of daggers, and intentionally brings up croissants to Murasakibara, just to see his reaction.

"Let me tell you about _CLARIFIED BUTTER!"_

Kuroko calmly watches pastries hit the wall before sluggishly dragging himself to his feet, still sort of hugging his enormous glass to his chest and flopping against Kagami. "Aomine-kun wants us to play a game against his team," he says. "But he wants to be power forward. I'm sorry."

Kagami finishes his beer, popping open another, and slings an arm around Kuroko's shoulder. "We wouldn't really be playing his team if he's playing with us," he points out. "Set the bet, make some money and show him what he's missing. I'll hold your towel." He'd been expecting jealousy, but here, with Kuroko curled up at his side and floppy, remembering the life they have back in Japan, he just feels sort of bad for Aomine. Especially now, with half a danish dripping down his shoulder.

"I can still do the thing." Kuroko lets his head loll for a moment before he chugs back the last of his drink. "Next time, we aren't listening to Kise-kun, though. He's bad."

Wordlessly, Kagami hands off Kuroko's glass to an almost invisible waiter, who brings it back filled with the same fruity concoction in an instant. "He's kind of a tricky asshole," he agrees. "I guess we probably should have seen it coming, though. I mean, it's in America, and we knew he'd invited everyone else."

Kuroko happily clings to his glass again, looking very pleased about life. "They're dating, definitely dating," he says conspiratorially, his cheek slowly rubbing against Kagami's shoulder. "Kise-kun calls him _Daiki_. And Aomine-kun calls him Ryouta and he flat out said they were. Kise-kun is bad, though, don't like, don't recommend."

Kagami casts a glance at Aomine, now poking contentedly at Midorima's drooling face, and Kise, talking nervously to Akashi about his English skills in the film and how fame is treating him. "There could be worse couples," he decides eventually. "Now we better hope Murasakibara and Akashi don't pair up or this is really going to get incestuous."

Kuroko makes a face at that, and subsequently drinks more. "That'd be creepy. Akashi-kun is like his babysitter. He lies and says he doesn't like sweets but he does."

Kagami likes drunk Kuroko. Drunk Kuroko is kind of hilarious, and really shockingly good at deciding what he wants and taking it. "He's in his mid-twenties, do you really think he still needs a babysitter? I mean, he graduated culinary school, right?" Vaguely, he wonders if Murasakibara still talks to Tatsuya, and the place he used to wear a ring around his neck aches cold.

"Murasakibara-kun always needs supervision or he starts crushing things, it's not good," Kuroko says, shrugging. "He's also always listened to Akashi-kun, so it's probably for the best. Ah, I hope Midorima-kun doesn't die, he kind of looks like he's on the verge."

Kagami rolls to the side, tugging on Takao's sleeve. "Oi, you should give him one of those shots, don't you think? He won't want to miss the movie." He turns back to Kuroko, muttering, "I don't know why any weirdo would want to do all of college and medical school in six years, there just aren't enough hours in the day. He's gonna kill himself."

"It's almost better if he's like this, though…" Takao frets, giving Midorima a gentle nudge.

"At least he's going to be done and it'll be over with," Kuroko points out, grabbing at Kagami's beer to steal a sip from that, too. He makes a face, and turns back to his own drink in short order. "And then he will be very wealthy. Wealthier. Wealthiest."

"Getting jealous again?" Kagami teases, stealing a sip of Kuroko's fruity concoction in retaliation. "Or are you just dreading the day when he stops working twenty-two hours a day and is actually around the apartment? We've got enough saved up to move out ten times over, you know, it's not a big deal."

"He'll never stop working twenty-two hours a day, he'll go and harass Takao-kun about his grades instead. Or panicking over giving speeches. Or just panicking. Ahh, I'm warm," Kuroko says with a laugh, flopping sideways against Kagami's chest. "Kagami-kuuuun, I'm gonna tell everyone you're afraid of eggs."

Kagami's arm tightens affectionately at first, then turns into an iron grip, complete with a growl from his lips. "Hey, what the hell, I'm not afraid of eggs! Anyone would be afraid of your cooking."

"Not those kind of eggs. The kind that look like breasts, you're afraid of those."

"Keep your voice down! That was only a few times!"

"Nooo, it's every time, Kagami-kun _definitely_ is afraid of boob-eggs."

Nearby, Takao makes a valiant effort not to crack right the fuck up.

"I just don't like seeing them when they're all-"

"Who's talking bad about eggs?" Murasakibara stands, eyes narrowed and dark. "First croissants, now eggs? Kise-chin, what kind of place is this?"

A waiter nearly drops a tray of hors d'ouvres, nervously watching listening to shouted Japanese.

Kuroko gleefully downs more of his drink. "Kise-kun is bad," he firmly declares.

"I need backup," Takao settles upon, fishing out a syringe. "Shin-chan, it's time for your shot-"

_Why am I here_ is the resounding thought of one Akashi Seijuurou, opting to drink heavily.

"Everyone shut up, the movie's starting!"

Finally, the Generation of Miracles settles down, except for Midorima, who perks up a bit at the injection. Kise climbs into a seat next to Aomine, trying not to look excited about seeing himself on the big screen in America, grabbing at Aomine's shoulder like an excited child on a roller coaster ride.

It's not a _bad_ movie (Takao quips something about Oscar bait underneath his breath), though Kuroko personally finds it hilarious that Kise is apparently supposed to be a Japanese warlord (undoubtedly cast because he's Asian, tall, muscular, and sort of capable of being scary).

"Kise-kun was very intimidating," Kuroko says, sort of swaying on his feet after the fact. That was probably three very large drinks and some of Kagami's beer and he doesn't remember all of it. "Very."

Kise beams, accepting the sarcastic compliment at face value, because after all, if he doesn't, he'll never get any compliments from Kuroko. "Thank you, Kurokocchi! Ah, Murasakibaracchi, you can stop hiding in Akashicchi's shoulder, the scary parts are over." He claps his hands together, eyes alight with possibilities. "After party? The other stars and producers and everyone are going to be there, I'd love them all to meet….ah, some of you….Takaocchi, maybe you should take Midorimacchi back to the hotel."

Midorima scratches at bugs that aren't there. He scratches a lot.

"Shin-chan definitely needs to sleep," Takao agrees, grabbing one of Midorima's arms to tug him along. "Sorry, Kise-kun, I think we're gonna skip. Awesome movie, though, I'm really glad you flew us in!"

"Kagami-kun, the room is spinning a little." Kuroko makes grabby hands in the direction of Kagami's arm. "Is this what happens when you're afraid of eggs?"

"Why the fuck did you let _him_ at the alcohol?" Aomine mutters to Kise underneath his breath.

"Because Kurokocchi is ridiculously cute when he's drunk, and you've never gotten to see him that way," Kise says logically, giving Aomine's side a pinch. "Takaocchi, call me whenever you guys wake up, even if you sleep for three days."

Kagami looks down at Kuroko, amused against his better judgement. "What do you think, want to go to a fancy hollywood party?"

"Will do!" Takao says with a cheerful wave, promptly grabbing Midorima by the tie to haul him out of the place.

Kuroko blinks, then nods, flopping against Kagami's chest with another nod. "Let's do the thing. But please pick up, things are spinny."

"Fuck you, Ryou," Aomine grumbles underneath his breath.

Maybe there's someone born who can resist Kuroko's eyes combined with such a plaintive little request. Kagami is certainly not that person. He lifts Kuroko like a child, hoisting him up onto his hip and not really caring what anyone thinks of it. No one knows him here, anyway. "Oi, Kise. Where's the party?"

"Follow me!" Kise calls, excited when Murasakibara and Akashi turn to follow him as well. He grabs Aomine's hand and tugs, asking quietly, "You're not going to abandon me tonight, are you?"

Aomine snorts at that, and with a last, exasperated glance back at Kuroko (who seems content to loll around in Kagami's arms, clinging half-heartedly to his neck and babbling something about eggs again), he gives Kise's hand a firm squeeze. "Don't be a dumbass," he mutters. "It's your premiere night, isn't it? I'm not going anywhere. You deserve a hot date."

Kise beams. "I've got the hottest date of all," he says happily, and tugs Aomine out of the room.

The premier party is the kind of insane Kise thrives on, a gritty, thumping, electric blend of sounds and smells, an assault on the senses. Bodies press up against him from every angle, A-listers and desperate B-listers and people who would be something higher than A-listers if anyone had known they existed. They nod, giving Kise little looks that say _yes, I noticed you, yes, you pleased me_, and dollar signs flash in Kise's eyes.

He drags Aomine by the hand, liking for once the way that everyone sort of expects Asians to stick together, expects them to do weird wacky shit in public like hold hands with other random Asians and dye their hair and appear on game shows he's never heard of in Japan and talk in a voice like some of his father's crazy friends.

He looks back a few times to make sure Kagami and Murasakibara are following (he's given up hope of seeing Kuroko in any crowd, let alone one so much taller than he is) and pauses a few times, letting him catch up. At least Aomine's grown, to the degree that he's easy to pick out in a crowd even in America.

Finally, they break through (courtesy of Kise's smile) to a much quieter part of the building, frosted glass and large men in sunglasses keeping out everyone not intimately involved with the production, and the noise dies to a dull roar. Kise grabs a bottle of too-expensive champagne, gleefully pouring everyone a drink. "Everyone has to toast me," he demands. "That's the rule!"

"You and your katana-wielding skills," Aomine snidely teases, almost, _almost_ in the mood to haul Kise down into his lap. Maybe after the toast, or after he's had a few drinks and everyone would just laugh about it later (in theory).

Kuroko is among the most eager for more alcohol (go figure), even though he almost tips over after taking a sip after the toast. "Ah… still spinny," he confirms, sliding back against Kagami. "Spinny things are spinny."

"You're not allowed to make fun of my katana-wielding skills," Kise informs Aomine, dropping unceremoniously into his lap and somehow managing not to spill any champagne. "I trained for _weeks_ to be able to swing it around like that, I thought my shoulder was going to fall off."

Kagami sets Kuroko down on the ground, but keeps an arm firmly around him. Weirder still, no one even bats an eye-none of the big shots, none of the actors, none of their family. "Oi, Kise, where's your family?"

Kise flaps a hand. "They're around. Well, my sister and my mom, Dad was working. I think they went back to the hotel, they get scared of all the foreigners. Kagamicchi, are you going to see your family while you're here?"

Kagami's smile freezes on his face. He looks down at the top of Kuroko's head, then shrugs. "Probably not."

"Kagami-kun's dad is a jerk," Kuroko bluntly says, his filter very, very far gone. "We're not talking about him, though. We don't ever talk about him."

Aomine's eyebrows raise as he casually leans back, arm slung loosely, but no less possessively about Kise's waist. Yeah, he's decided he kind of likes this, especially when it's a hot movie star he's got his arm around. "One of _those_ dads, huh?"

"Like yours would be any different," Kagami mutters. "Like _any_ of them would. It doesn't matter, he was barely around anyway."

Kise's face falls, and he worries at his bottom lip, fingers intertwining slowly with Aomine's. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories-"

"It's fine," Kagami says, cutting him off. "Seriously. Let's just toast Warlord Kise and drink, okay?"

"Warlord Kise," Murasakibara repeats solemnly, then downs his glass in one sip, making a face. "You'd think a movie star could afford sweetened champagne. Ah, you should get the kind with strawberries at the bottom, I like strawberries when they're fizzy."

"… That sounds good," Kuroko agrees, blinking as he nuzzles his cheek against Kagami's shoulder. "Fruity drinks in general are good."

"Yeah, you already look drunk enough," Aomine dryly says. "Let's not. Oh yeah, I dunno if Tetsu mentioned it, but I was wondering if you guys wanted to play a game together-y'know, for old time's sake." He shrugs, downing the rest of his glass. "Wouldn't be surprised if you beat the Heat and everything. Even if you don't, we're all down here for a game this weekend, so it'd be good practice-and hey, free tickets if you want 'em."

"I'm in." Kagami sort of surprises even himself at that-but if Kuroko's fine with it, and he _does_ seem fine with it, that's being a good boyfriend, right?

Besides, it's the _Heat_.

Murasakibara frowns, looking around. "Who's playing what?" he asks, looking immediately at Akashi for the answers.

"_I'm_ power forward, you go hold the towels," Aomine grouses in Kagami's direction.

"Nonsense, Daiki. _Your_ team will want your assistance on the court, no doubt," Akashi cuts in, and Aomine settles for a very sour look in his direction. "Atsushi, obviously, will be our center, Shintarou our shooting guard, Ryouta as small forward-" His gaze flickers appraisingly toward Kagami. "You'll do as a power forward in Daiki's absence-and of course, myself as point guard. I will sit out for Tetsuya as needed."

"Um," Kuroko says, "please don't forget Takao-kun."

"Mm. Shintarou's friend will suffice if your effectiveness runs out, I suppose, or if Ryouta still tends towards sloppiness as I recall."

"Akashi, you're still a little shit," Aomine bluntly tells him, and rather enjoys the way Akashi twitches.

Kise shifts uncomfortably on Aomine's lap in a way that has nothing to do with the comfort of his seat. "Small forward sounds great to me," he says cheerfully, "and it's been _ages_ since I've been able to face off against you properly."

"Same goes for me," Kagami says, though he gives Akashi a sour look nonetheless. He doesn't like being told he'll _do_, as if he's supposed to be grateful the great Akashi Seijuuro thinks he's nearly good enough to wipe Aomine's boots.

"Found it!" Murasakibara exclaims, and pulls out a long tube candy purchased from the airport, tearing it in half and stuffing half of it in Akashi's mouth. "Now you'll be sweeter with your words, Aka-chin."

Akashi finds himself torn between spitting it out (and thus risking enraging Murasakibara) or simply resigning himself to his fate. For once, he begrudgingly does the latter, chewing and swallowing with a rather dour glare.

Aomine gives Kise's waist a firm squeeze, and leans over him to grab the bottle and tip of the blond's glass. "Yeah, well, just know we won't be holding back. I'm gonna tell them all you're really good, so don't make an idiot out of me."

"Aomine-kun tends to do that himself."

"Shut your mouth, Tetsu," Aomine growls without any real malice. Kuroko merely turns to start chewing on Kagami's shoulder.

Kise, in retaliation, tugs on Aomine's ear with his teeth. "Kurokocchi," he half-whines, "is Midorimacchi going to even be able to play tomorrow? He looked like he was about to shatter into a million crazy pieces."

"He'll be fine," Kagami says confidently, putting a hand on Kuroko's head to keep his mouth where it is. "He's just at the end of his cycle. He works for four days straight, then sleeps six hours, then does it again. But this time instead of sleeping, he was on a plane, so he got a little nuts. He'll sleep all night and be fine tomorrow."

When he sees everyone staring at him, he mutters, "What? You don't live with a guy for two years without figuring out his schedule."

Murasakibara stares at Kuroko. "Does Kaga-chin taste good?" he asks, curious.

"Mm. Very good. But I'm sorry, Murasakibara-kun, I'm not sharing. You should try chewing on Akashi-kun," Kuroko lightly suggests before grabbing at Kagami's wrist and dragging his hand to his mouth, nibbling on one finger.

"Please refrain, Atsushi," Akashi hastily says.

Aomine does a damn good job of _not_ staring at the way Kuroko is less chewing, more strategically enjoying now.

"Mmm, Aka-chin doesn't taste that good," Murasakibara says confidently. "I chewed on him once in Teiko. Muro-chin was better. Still too much lotion."

Kise thinks about telling everyone to _behave_, they're in _public_, but not far off there's a producer wearing a toilet seat on his head and goosing a girl up her miniskirt, so he abandons that in favor of wriggling slowly on Aomine's lap. His eyes lid, and he turns, murmuring low enough that even Aomine can barely hear, "You still want him."

"Shut the fuck up," Aomine lowly mutters, giving Kise's waist another squeeze and hauling him back firmly. "I'm being good, don't tell me what I want. Ah, Murasakibara," he says, in a far louder voice. "What's his face-Himuro? He's playing for the Lakers. You should see him at the game tomorrow."

Kuroko blinks, releasing Kagami's hand just shy of sucking a finger into his mouth. "He is? Kagami-kun, did you know that?"

"Yeah," Kagami admits, grimacing. "I've been following the Lakers since I was like nine, it was kind of a big red flag."

"Lakers suck," Kise says succinctly, wriggling. "The Heat are better."

"Wrong. Wow, really, _really_ wrong." Kagami shakes his head. "I should have expected that from you."

"I want to go to a Lakers game," Murasakibara says, frowning slightly. "I'm going tomorrow."

"You can't hide it," Kise murmurs, getting close to Aomine's ear. "I can get him. In our bed, tonight. I'll bet you anything."

"Lakers suck this season, man, deal with it," Aomine laughs in Kagami's direction, trying not to shiver when Kise's lips brush against his ear. "Fucking quit it, Ryou," he mutters, pinching one of his thighs. "Do I look like I want a bitch fight? Fireman there would pitch a fit."

"Not if Fireman's busy sucking my dick," Kise purrs, shifting ever so slightly on Aomine's lap. "Think about it, Daikicchi. I'll bet you anything. I'll bet you a role in my next movie, dinner with Yukina Kashiwa, anything you want."

Kise isn't fucking fair most of the time, but this is a little ridiculous.

Aomine sucks in a slow breath, eyes lidding as the pinch of his fingers turns to a slow, upward stroke instead, thumb running up the inside of one muscular thigh. "And if you get him in our bed? What do _you_ want?" This is a bad idea, instinct tells him, but fuck if he can say no when Kise is shifting on his lap like that, and Kuroko has returned to nuzzling-no, nope, that's definitely tongue, and teeth, both set on Kagami's hand no matter protests. Ah, fuck.

"I feel left out," Murasakibara says, yawning, but a waiter passes by with a tray of bonbons, and he disappears soon after.

"Maybe that _is_ what I want," Kise murmurs, and sets his teeth into Aomine's neck. "Or maybe I just like the idea of you owing me. Take Akashi, go get a drink or whatever, give me….mm, ten minutes."

"Fuck, I just have to be the one to deal with Akashi, don't I," Aomine mutters, and gives Kise's thigh a squeeze before hefting up and out of his lap. "Oi, Akashi. I was wondering if I could run some play ideas by you? Figure if anyone's gonna lend me some advice, it's you."

Akashi looks terribly pleased to have something to discuss other than odd relationships and family problems. "I am glad to hear you still have _some_ sense about you, Daiki."

"Uh… yeah. Let's do it over drinks, this way," Aomine says, climbing to his feet with a jerk of his head.

Kuroko hums, and promptly slides over into Kagami's lap, deciding his neck is now a good place to start nibbling.

Kise sighs loudly, draping himself backwards over a couple chairs, head thudding against Kagami's thigh. "Kurokocchi," he whines, kicking a leg up into the air, "you have to stop that. It's waaaaay too arousing. Makes me want to suck, too."

Kuroko pauses, blinking down at Kise in confusion for a moment before it clicks. "Ah. Kise-kun, don't be rude," he mildly says, as if Kise had interrupted a conversation, not Kuroko's attempts to climb him and kiss him.

Kise sighs again, reaching a hand out, almost touching Kuroko's mouth, then pulls back. "It's a shame. I've always had kind of a….crush. I thought since it was my premier, and everyone's all tipsy, _maybe_ tonight…"

Another sluggish blink follows. "… A crush?" he echoes. "On me?" Somewhere, in his rather inebriated mind, Kuroko tells himself _that was pretty obvious_.

_Yes. Obviously. Everyone did._

Kise laughs, fingers tiptoing up the upholstery of the chair. "Not _you_, Kurokocchi. I told you, you're making me want to suck too," he finishes in a murmur, looking up at Kagami through long-lashed eyes.

Kagami blinks. "What? Me?"

"Ahh, Kagamicchi is so cute when he's embarrassed."

"… Kagami-kun is a good person to have a crush on," Kuroko eventually decides, pleased that Kagami has other admirers, too, and rather contently sets his teeth to the curve of his shoulder in a slow bite. "But Aomine-kun," he absently adds, "said you two were dating. You should probably be good, Kise-kun."

"Daikicchi," Kise says deliberately, a wicked grin on his face, "likes watching me be naughty." He reaches over, tracing a fingertip down Kuroko's arm, then up Kagami's, feeling goosebumps break out in its wake. "Have you ever watched Kagamicchi be naughty, Kurokocchi?"

"No…" Watching the drag of that single fingertip is fascinating for some reason. The idea of Aomine being there, too, is also far more alluring than it should be, and Kuroko hesitantly glances upward to Kagami, eyes lidded. Kise, at least, isn't a threat. He never has been, and maybe that's what makes this so easy. "But I only would if Kagami-kun really _wanted_ to…"

Kagami swallows hard. He's never _had_ anyone but Kuroko-not that he's never wanted to, but it hasn't been the right time, the right person, and then there was Kuroko and no one else had mattered since.

But now there's Kise, lounging like some kind of geisha girl, frankly saying that he wants to- "What," he asks, surprised to find his voice hoarse, "do you want to do? I mean-what is it you want?"

Kise's grin is entirely too cat-like for someone with all his puppyish enthusiasm. "I told you already. I want to _suck_." He raises an eyebrow at Kuroko, then looks back at Kagami. "I can be _really_ fun to play with. Kurokocchi….would you want to watch? I bet he looks _good_ naked, wouldn't you like to watch him for once instead of being part of it? Mm, I bet he looks good in all the places you can't see." Shit, even if it was a joke at first, just a fun and flirty way to give Daiki a present, Kise's cock is rock-hard at the idea of sucking Kagami off.

"… Kagami-kun… always does look very good naked," Kuroko murmurs, his own breath hitching a little at the thought of being able to _see_ so much. He slowly slinks his way closer, face half-buried into Kagami's neck. "It's fine, if you want to," he quietly says, breath warm against Kagami's throat. "If Kise-kun just wants to have fun, then… that's all it is, right?"

"We-e-ell," Kise says slowly, worrying at his lip, "I mean, I _want_ to, but….you have to let Daiki come too, he'll be _really_ upset if I do stuff without him, and….ah, Kurokocchi," he murmurs, reaching out to grab Kuroko's wrist, stroking gently, "I really don't want to hurt him. You don't mind too much, right? You can both watch me suck your boyfriend's dick, I promise I'll be good at it."

Kagami swallows hard, arm tightening around Kuroko, breath coming quick now. He looks down at Kuroko, trying to pretend he's not painfully hard, and half-whispers, "It's up to you. It's fine if we're together, right?"

The thought of Aomine being there makes even his thoroughly inebriated mind hesitate _just_ a bit-but only a bit before Kuroko nods. "It's… that's fine. I don't want us to be the reason something bad happens with you and Aomine-kun, so…"

Kise bounds up from his sprawled position, carefully taking both of their wrists in one hand. "Come on," he says cheerfully, "I'll send Daikicchi a text, all the cast are provided with hotel rooms upstairs." He tugs them into the nearest elevator, locks eyes with Kuroko, and slowly brings Kagami's hand to his mouth, closing his lips around the tip of one finger.

Kagami's breath catches. He's never really stood a chance against the Generation of Miracles with things like this, after all.

"Kise-kun… is probably a lot better at this than I am," Kuroko murmurs, eyes fixed upon Kise's mouth already, and the way he seems so easily to be able to turn Kagami into a mess. Hmm. Maybe it's just because they're doing something so _different_ and_… wrong_-"Kagami-kun is always too much for me."

Kagami's pretty sure he's going to punch a hole in his pants. "You're really good at it," he says, defensive of Kuroko somehow even when he shudders a bit as Kise's tongue flicks over the tip of his finger. "It's not your fault you have a small mouth."

"I have been reliably informed that I have a big mouth," Kise teases, and ruffles Kuroko's hair. "Besides, I probably just have more practice. I could maybe teach you a couple things to really make him crazy, hmm, Kurokocchi?"

"I'm pretty good at making him crazy-just not as much like _that_," Kuroko says, wriggling closer against Kagami's other side and setting his teeth gently to his shoulder, nibbling slowly. "Kagami-kun fits lots of other places just fine, after all…"

Kagami's about to give up and pull his cock out in the elevator when it dings, and Kise's dragging them off again, swiping a hotel room key and leading them all inside to a place larger than his and Kuroko's section of their apartment. He pauses just long enough to send a text to Aomine-_Room 1164, he'll be naked in a minute_-and tugs the two men over, pushing Kuroko lightly down to the bed, tugging Kagami forward by one of his belt loops. "I bet you're reeeally gentle with him," he says wickedly, sliding down to his knees. "Mm, I would be too if someone looked at me with those big blue eyes."

"Kagami-kun… is very gentle," Kuroko breathlessly agrees, entranced by the easy way that Kise moves, the way he slinks down to his knees like he doesn't have an ounce of shame. _I hope he isn't gentle with you_ is the obscene thought that flashes through his mind, and Kuroko flushes, looking away briefly as everything is suddenly _too_ hot.

"Geez, you don't waste any time, Ryou."

The door clicks shut, and Kuroko _tries_ not to think about how Aomine's voice is more akin to a purr than anything else. It's impossible especially when he all but glides in, smirking as he claps a hand against Kagami's shoulder. "He's got one hell of a mouth," he breathes, and Kuroko basically gives up when Aomine's teeth catch the edge of Kagami's ear. "Make good use of it, it's all he's really good for."

"Daikicchi is very rude," Kise says with a laugh, eyes dark at the sight of Aomine's white teeth on Kagami's ear, and the way Kagami _shivers_. "Hey, I have an idea. Kurokocchi….why don't you and Daikicchi tell us what to do, from that bed over there?" He shoves Aomine toward the bed with Kuroko, and before he can protest, drags down the zipper of Kagami's pants, reaching a hand inside and letting out a low, appreciative groan. "Ah, god, you weren't wrong about him not fitting, were you?"

Kagami's face flushes. "D-don't just talk about it like I'm not here!"

Aomine makes a note to challenge Kise to more bets, more often-or at least, ones that land him in bed next to one flushed, shivery Kuroko Tetsuya. Fuck. He doesn't care if he has to suck Kise's dick for a week because of this (he'd probably do it anyway). It's _worth it_.

"It better fit in _your_ mouth, baby," Aomine sighs, loosening his tie with a yank and shamelessly dragging one hand over to Kuroko's thigh. There's a momentary, hesitant twitch, but that's about it, and Aomine grins as he squeezes, slow and easy. "Pull it out, let's see you have a taste."

"Gladly."

Kise carefully pulls Kagami's cock out, and ah, even if this had started for other reasons, the fact that he's here with Kagami of all people about to suck his cock is kind of unfair in how arousing it is. His eyes flick over to Aomine and Kuroko, then up to Kagami's sort of adorable blushing face as he leans forward, dragging his tongue slowly over the slit.

"Fuck," Kagami whispers, hands clenching into fists at his sides, hips twitching forward to try and rub more against that slick heat.

"Mm." Kise grins, licking his lips, and murmurs towards the bed, "He tastes _good_." Then he fits his lips over the head, liking the stretch of it, and groans.

Even if he's here because of Kuroko, the sight of Kise on his knees with a dick in his mouth _never_ fails to make him hard.

"You really are a slut, you know that?" Aomine breathes, eyes lidded as his hand drags up maybe too fast, and Kuroko utters a low, choked back squeak. That really shouldn't make him even harder, but it _does_, and Aomine gives into the urge to just grab him, hauling him over into his lap. When Kuroko merely squirms, makes no attempt to get away, that's a fucking open invitation as far as he's concerned. "You really think you can take all of him, Ryou?" he rumbles, breath hot against Kuroko's neck, eyes lidded and dark. "If he acts like he can't, Kagami, you're gonna have to make him do it anyway. He likes that a lot."

"If he even can." Kise looks up at Kagami, eyes full of laughing challenge, and mouths hot and wet along the side of his cock, trailing his tongue from the base to the tip. "Kurokocchi says he's _very_ gentle."

"Bastard," Kagami growls, and just like that his hands are in Kise's hair, yanking him back and thrusting into his open mouth, the head of his cock dragging over Kise's tongue. He looks over at the bed, and even the fire seeing Aomine touching Kuroko sends through him doesn't make him _angry_. It makes him hot, the expression on Kuroko's face sending a dark, quivering rush through him. "What do you think?" he asks, voice rough. "Should I do what he says, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko swallows hard, and he nods, face hot at the sight as much as how it feels to have Aomine's cock hard against the curve of his ass, occasionally rubbing against him. "Don't be gentle with him at all," he rasps. "I can tell… he likes it, if you just use him."

"Ugh, fuck, he's got you figured out, Ryou," Aomine groans, dipping his head to suck on the lobe of Kuroko's ear, his hands splaying over lean thighs. Kuroko doesn't squeak this time-more than anything, Aomine can feel the rumble of a swallowed back moan, senses trained on that even when his eyes zero in on Kise. "I can already tell how fucking hard you are from here. Don't you dare touch yourself, all you are is a hole right now."

Kise whimpers around Kagami's cock, shifting on his knees to try and get some relief from where he's thick and hard and pressing painfully against the seam of his pants. Aomine's voice isn't fair at the best of times-when he's got a mouth full of cock, it's a hundred times worse.

"You like all these people watching you, don't you?" Kagami asks quietly, and his hands come up to Kise's head, watching for any reactions that aren't good, and using some pressure to slide into Kise's throat.

It's the farthest in anyone's mouth he's ever been, and Kise's golden eyes are dilated with arousal, urging him on further-not that Kagami needs any encouragement. It's kind of a rush, not being _worried_ about the person down there, not going at a slow, gentle pace so Kuroko doesn't get overwhelmed, not waiting for the person to pull off and announce calmly that he gives up, Kagami can finish another way because his jaw hurts.

Kise chokes a little on the next powerful thrust, tears running down his face, and his cock throbs painfully. _I knew that beast was inside you, Kagamicchi._

"Ah, fuck," Aomine mutters, his eyes lidded as he finally just gives up, hoists Kuroko up, and tosses him back onto the bed, a hand already clawing at his pants. "Like hell your boyfriend's the only one that gets to have fun."

Kuroko isn't _quite_ sure what he expects, but it isn't Aomine's long fingers yanking off his pants and underwear, and it definitely isn't that hot, slick mouth wrapped around his cock in short order, a wet, messy stripe licked from root to tip leaving him gasping before Aomine's lips wrap around him. Kuroko's hands fly up into the thick of his hair, shuddering when there's so much _more_ for him to grab at now, and he twists his fingers up into Aomine's ponytail, unable to stop himself from tugging when he can't even think or breathe-_especially_ not when he looks over at Kagami, sees how Kise's mouth is stuffed _full_, and he bites his lip hard, his hips twitching up, cock sliding deeper down Aomine's throat only to be met with a groan.

Kise gags hard when Kagami slides down his throat, but refuses to pull away when Kagami makes to let him go, shoving his own head down again. Like hell if he'll be outdone by Aomine, not when he's pretty sure he has a _lot_ more practice sucking cock. He hollows his cheeks, ignoring the tears running down his face as he swirls his tongue, feeling Kagami relax and yank him down again until his nose butts against Kagami's stomach. _I did it_, he wants to crow, but shit, Kagami is really _huge_. As big as Aomine, probably, and so thick even Kise's jaw starts to ache after a while. Good thing he likes that pain.

This….this is something Kagami could get used to. Kise sucks cock like it's his job-no, like it's his _passion_, and looking to the side, Kuroko is thrashing and groaning in pleasure. Even if it is because of Aomine, that's a _nice_ sight, and Kagami's not really sure he recognizes his own voice when he growls, "Aomine. Take your clothes off. I want to see you when you suck him."

Aomine pulls off with a wet pop, exhaling a laugh. "Your boyfriend's more of a pervert than I thought, Tetsu," he lowly teases, though he's already shrugging off his jacket, and yanking at the buttons on his shirt. "Though if I'm gonna be naked, I'm doing more than sucking you off."

Kuroko opens his mouth, a protest on his lips, and Aomine automatically shushes him with his shirt tossed over the smaller man's face. "Take it easy. I want you in me." Aomine's gaze sharply swivels to Kagami, down to the blond on his knees, trembling and with every fiber of his being blissfully glazed over. "If you get sick of _that_ slut," he casually adds, arching an eyebrow to Kagami, "maybe you can join in."

Kagami blames the fact that Kuroko thinks it's flattering when he comes fast. That's easier than blaming the fact that Aomine looks unbelievably good with his clothes off, or that Kuroko's cock is upright and flushed red, or that there's a talented, hungry mouth on his cock that _doesn't_ belong to his boyfriend. Whatever the reason, he doesn't expect to lose himself so fast, hands rough in Kise's hair as he groans, spilling down his throat, hips pistoning so fast it slops into Kise's mouth and out over his lips.

Kise shudders, clinging to Kagami, tongue working hard as he licks his own lips, licks Kagami's cock, so hard he's not sure he won't just pass out from it. "Kagamicchi tastes good," he says, and his voice is hoarse and rough from all the gagging. He stumbles to his feet, lurching over to the bed, and grabs Aomine's hair for a deep, sucking kiss.

Aomine groans into Kise's mouth, rough hands already raking down Kise's sides, yanking at his belt, grabbing at his cock through his slacks. "Fuck, _look_ at you," he rasps, teeth tugging on the bruised swell of Kise's lower lip, sucking firmly on it as he paws at Kise's cock. "Shit, Kagami, you've really turned him into a mess," he laughs, low and throaty. "You gonna come all over yourself, Ryou? Or you wanna shove it in me, and show them how I like being fucked?"

Watching the two of them bite and paw and grab at one another _shouldn't_ make him so achingly, dizzyingly hard, but it_ does_, and Kuroko strangles down a groan, biting his lip as he reaches down to squeeze his own cock and stop himself from coming right then and there.

Kise lets out a whimpering moan, rutting up into Aomine's hand, grabbing and clinging at his broad shoulders and trying not to come all over himself just yet. "N-no," he rasps, gasping for breath and looking down at Kuroko. "I want my turn, I want to watch you take his dick." His eyes lid, and he looks down at Kuroko, a hint of that wicked smile back on his face. "Does Kagamicchi let you fuck him? Daikicchi looks fucking good with a cock up his ass."

Kagami groans softly, staggering over to the bed, and sidles up behind Kise, wrapping a big hand over Aomine's on Kise's cock. With the other, he reaches out, brushing the hair back from Kuroko's face. "You look so good," he murmurs, as drunk on the strangeness of it and the sex as Kuroko is on alcohol. "God, you look so good."

Kuroko swallows unsteadily, half-burying his face into Kagami's hand as his breath hitches wildly. "I've… a few times, but-"

"Can't blame you," Aomine agrees, eyes lidded as he slides his hand away from Kise with a last, rough squeeze of his cock. "I'd want to ride a dick like that all the time." _Might be one of your more redeeming features_ he wants to snidely bite in Kagami's direction, but he's hard enough to not even want to bother, _eager_ enough that he'd be stupid to, and far better is twisting back around, mouthing a sharp, hot bite to the curve of Kuroko's shoulder instead. "Yours, too," he breathes as he draws back, spitting into the palm of his hand and dragging it down the flushed, aching length of Kuroko's cock. "Fuck, Tetsu. You're really fucking hard."

Kuroko's mind sympathetically clicks off. His hands are grabby, clawing things as they reach for Aomine's hips, his chest rising and falling raggedly as his hips jerk up, cock sliding slick and hard along the curve of Aomine's ass. "_Please_-"

God, he's going to pay Kise in diamonds later for this. Aomine's knees settle firmly to either side of Kuroko's hips, and that first, arch down makes him groan, the stretch Kuroko's cock pressing inside making his head pitch back. When he sinks down all the way, their hips flush again, sweat beading between his shoulders, Aomine _savors_ it with a slow grind of his hips, exhaling a hot, ragged breath, eyes trained on the way Kuroko is flushed hot, vision glazed and lips parted with every panting breath. "_Fuck_, Tetsu."

"He looks so good taking dick," Kise breathes, stretching out along Kuroko's side, slowly rubbing his cock up and down one pale hip. "Doesn't he? God, I never get tired of watching the faces he makes. Mm, sometimes I just want to flip him over and yank on that slutty ponytail, I bet you do too."

"Give him more."

Kagami swallows hard, slowly palming himself back to hardness, eyes locked on the flex of Aomine's muscles. He leans up, slowly running a hand down Aomine's chest, thumbing hard over a nipple. "I bet you can take more, right? Kise, fuck his mouth."

Kise scrambles up to his feet, oddly aroused by the idea of taking orders from Kagami, planting his feet apart on the bed and bringing the head of his cock to Aomine's lips. "This what you want?" he breathes, eyes alight. "You want two dicks in you, Daikicchi?"

The sound Aomine makes is _hungry_, and his lips part immediately, tongue flicking out in an eager, messy swipe over the head of Kise's cock. The _sight_ of that makes Kuroko's cock throb, his breath hitching hard in his chest as his hands grab at Aomine's hips, nails biting into that perfect, dark skin as he wriggles for leverage to thrust _up_ and into him, deep enough that he can see Aomine swallow hard, eyes fluttering as his thighs flex to grind himself down _harder_.

"You always taste so fucking _good_, Ryou," Aomine mutters, reaching up a hand to grab at Kise's cock, lips sliding over the head of it with a groan muffled down his throat. His own cock aches, dripping with every eager roll and twitch of his hips, eyes lidded and unfocused as he sucks.

Maybe Kagami's never exactly thought of Aomine this way before, but fuck, he's never been able to deny the guy is _hot_. And like this, riding Kuroko's cock, sucking Kise frantically, sweat and precome dripping off him with every roll of his hips, he looks like a debauched god, something sly and fallen. Kagami reaches over, closing his fingers around Aomine's cock, groaning at the feel of it hard and heavy in his hand. He pumps, slowly at first and then in time with the slapping of his hips against Kuroko's.

God, that _noise_.

He tells himself he's only curious, never seen it from this angle, but he can't help the way his other hand comes down, thumb rubbing against the place Kuroko's entering Aomine over and over again, rubbing along that tight ring of muscle, and he doesn't really _mean_ for one, then two of his fingers to slip inside that tight heat.

Kise's eyes unfocus. "Holy fucking shit," he breathes, and grabs Aomine's head, forcing him down. "Fuck, I'm gonna come on your face, fuck, you love it."

_Kuroko_ is the one that _mewls_, the sound broken as his hips shove up _hard_. "R…really… really tight-" He's _sure_, if Aomine's skin was any paler, that he'd be able to see bruises already where his hands grip the other man's hips.

Aomine's eyes roll back as he chokes, gagging for only a moment as he messily swallows all of Kise's cock, his back curved in a tight, trembling arc. He reaches one hand out mindlessly, dragging and pawing down Kagami's stomach, grabbing for his cock as he ruts down onto Kuroko and Kagami's fingers alike, eager, breathless sounds caught up in his throat.

Fuck, Aomine looks _good_ like this. Kise groans, yanking out of his mouth and working his hand over himself, squeezing the tip just the way he likes, just enough friction when he's slick with Aomine's drool. "You look so fucking pretty," he croons, jerking Aomine's head back with a hand in his hair, and lets out a choked shout when he comes, spilling across his lips and cheeks and _neck_ and _chest_ and god, it seems to go on and on.

Kagami ruts up into Aomine's hand, shoving a third long finger inside him, and god, that's as much as he usually gives Kuroko or himself before-

The thought is enough to make him groan, and he strangles out, "I bet you could take us both in there."

Aomine groans, sagging back as he licks at his own lips, panting out long, hard breaths as his hips mindlessly move against Kagami's hand. "So fucking shove it in," he says, voice barely above a breathless, rumbling purr. He lifts a hand, swiping it over his own face, dragging those slick, sticky fingers up against Kuroko's lips. He's pleased-and fuck, _Kise_ should be pleased about it, too-when Kuroko's tongue thoughtlessly flicks out, sucking them clean, his eyes nearly closed and his cock so hard inside of Aomine that it _hurts_.

Kise flops bonelessly down to the bed, turning Kuroko's face for a long, slow kiss, tasting and teasing his lips. "Our boyfriends," he pants, grinning up at them, "are fucking hot."

Kagami's hand slowly pulls out, the other one letting go of Aomine's cock as he laces his fingers with Kuroko's on Aomine's hips, from the other direction. "You sure you can take it?" he asks, breath uneven as he positions himself, achingly hard just at the idea. God, he's never even _thought_ of it before, and now Aomine's arching like that, _begging_ like that, and he can't even wait for Aomine to say yes before shoving in hard, feeling the steel of Kuroko's cock throbbing against his, and _shit_ that's tighter than anything he's ever been inside.

The sound Aomine makes is somewhere between a groan and a broken, ragged growl, with every muscle in his body a tense, trembling thing. There's really no helping how he sags back, not when even _his_ knees feel like giving out, his eyes glazed and mouth slack at how absolutely, _completely_ stuffed full he is. "Fuck," he gasps out, unable to stop how his hips twitch back even with that _ache_, with how hard it is to move when he's pushed and pulled between both of them. "Fuck, fuck me _hard_-"

The breath is torn from his lungs again when Kuroko lurches up onto his elbows, his cock sliding deeper still with that added _shove_, and Aomine chokes on another groan as his cock rubs against Kuroko's stomach, dripping and slicker with every motion. With Kise watching, it's even fucking _better_-he can still taste Kise on his lips, feel him sticky on his face and heavy on his tongue, and feeling those sharp golden eyes trained on him with every writhe-"Fuck," Aomine breathlessly, uselessly repeats, so very, _very_ content to be used.

Kagami's hands tighten, and the muscles in his arms bulge, lifting Aomine off his knees. "Just relax," he breathes, and slams in deep, lurching forward to press Aomine down against Kuroko's chest, bending him double and thrusting in until his balls slap against Kuroko's. He licks a long stripe up Aomine's back, tasting sweat and skin and probably at least a little of Kise's come, and _god_. He wouldn't trade Kuroko for anything in the world, but it's fucking _good_ to be able to fuck someone as hard as he can, drag him back with strong arms and slam in deep, knowing he can take it, knowing he _wants_ it. "Tetsuya, close?" he gasps, not having the words for anything else.

Kise reaches up languidly, all sorts of swimmy and pleased, and lets two fingertips rest on Aomine's lips. "Suck them when you come," he breathes.

There's something _obscene_ about being able to feel Kagami like this, with everything slick and too-tight inside the same, achingly hot body. "R-really close-" he manages, his nails scratching red lines down Aomine's sides, and his mouth fastens to one broad shoulder, biting down as he hears Aomine _groan._

Aomine's mind is mostly _off_ when he grabs sloppily for Kise's wrist, dragging his hand closer with his lips wrapped around those long, pretty fingers in an instant. He sucks hungrily, panting out hot breaths through his nose as he's fucked so hard that his eyes cross, and when he feels Kuroko shudder beneath him, feels liquid, slick heat spill inside of him, he's _gone_, spilling hot and messy over Kuroko's stomach and chest, his hips still intent on grinding _back_, on feeling every inch of Kagami's cock spreading him wide, everything easier, _slicker_ now.

None of this is _fair_.

Kagami blames all of them, blames his entire life for making him end up here, and slams in deep when he comes hard, shuddering at the slick heat of it all, somehow so much dirtier than when he and Kuroko rub up against each other and come that way. Aomine is trembling and tight, big enough that Kagami can _grab_ him, and he groans helplessly when he finishes with a few last brutal thrusts, pulling out to collapse on Kuroko's other side. "That," he pants, looking through lidded eyes at the rest of them, "was _not_ fair."

"I formally give up," Kuroko groans, flopping an arm to the side and over Kagami.

Aomine somehow manages a laugh, even if he's a shaky, trembling mess as he flops to the side, feeling more used than he _ever_ has been, and that's fucking _nice_. "Ryou gets a medal," he declares, giving the general vicinity of Kise's ass a solid slap.

"Yes I do," Kise agrees, stretching languidly and throwing a leg over Aomine. "I have good ideas sometimes."

Kagami grunts, burying his head in Kuroko's neck. Even if Kuroko doesn't smell like anything, it's still good to know who he's breathing in. "This was….something," he finally admits.

Kuroko manages a very, very sleepy nod, and promptly curls up into Kagami's chest, face buried into whatever bit of skin he can reach.

"You takin' him home?" Aomine rumbles, gaze lidded as it slides over to Kagami, one hand petting Kise's hair like he's got some expensive dog lounging against him. "I mean, you're welcome to stay, but Ryou sleep-gropes." He smirks. "Just so you know."

"I…." Kagami blinks slowly, trying to remember how to move. "Probably should go." But this bed is way more comfortable than his own hotel bed, and Kuroko's already asleep, and he really doesn't think he has enough strength to carry him out right now. Slowly, he rolls over to put himself between Kuroko and Kise. "Good enough," he mumbles, and promptly falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Takao slowly blinks awake, rolls to the side, and checks the clock.

Seven in the morning.

He tries to remember a time he's slept this late. He can't quite remember, and ahh, it's satisfying that he gets to do as much now. With a slow, luxurious stretch, Takao makes to get up, but ends up blinking slow and easy at the sight next to him-Midorima, already awake and sitting up, and rather pointedly staring at the wall.

"… I thought you'd be a little better after a good night's sleep," he wryly teases, slowly shifting around to worm his way over Midorima's lap, flopping over his legs and looking up at him. "You should go back to bed, if you're still feeling out of it," he says, reaching up to catch the bridge of Midorima's glasses and try to tug them away.

Midorima blinks, and looks down, a fond smile tugging at his lips as he looks down at Takao. "I'm not out of it," he assures him, a hand coming up to gently brush through Takao's hair. "I slept quite soundly. I'm merely pondering a question."

"Mm? Seems a bit too early for that, Shin-chan," Takao sighs, lidding his eyes in pleasure at Midorima's touch as much as relief that the other man seems to be wholly in one piece again. What a _night_. "What kind of question?"

"A legal one. A matter of safety, really, though I doubt it would ever come into play." Midorima pushes up his glasses, adding, "Before you ask, no, I'm not rewriting my will again. I'm thinking about legal differences between Japan and America."

"Uh huh," Takao slowly says, his head tilting against Midorima's thigh. He's really starting to be sure it's too early for this. "If it's not your will, then what is it?"

Midorima feels his cheeks heat up, and he keeps his hand moving, a slow, steady calming motion that probably helps him more than Takao. "I have a question to ask you."

Oooh. Maybe it's not too early after all, if Shin-chan is turning colors like that. Takao's eyes lid, his head butting up against Midorima's hand. "Mmkay. Ask it."

"You can't just demand it like that. I was working up to it. You interrupted me."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. If Shin-chan rehearsed it, I won't interrupt, go ahead."

"That's better." Midorima frowns. "But I think in America it's supposed to be something of a surprise. Now it isn't a surprise. I should wait until you forget."

Takao turns his head to snap a bite in the direction of Midorima's hand, trying very, very hard not to grin now. "I'll act surprised, don't be mean!"

"You'd better," Midorima says strictly, then sighs. "I'm lacking one of the props, but I think the question can still function." Ah, actually saying the words is a bit embarrassing, so he looks out the window as he asks in an almost inaudible voice, "I'd like it if-I mean, ah, would you….marry me?" No, he should not have said that. No, his face is obviously a tomato, and now is the time to run away, and tell Takao he hadn't meant it, he'd just woken up early and seen a stupid comedy on television and he really sort of hates Takao anyway and his life would be _so_ much easier if Takao just jumped off a building (even if Midorima would probably just follow him right off).

He doesn't really have to fake being surprised. Not _really_, not when he was so sure Midorima wouldn't say it after all.

Takao's own face is flushed, and he offers a mute nod at first before lurching up and flopping his arms around Midorima's neck. "Yes." He huffs, and stuffs his face into the side of Midorima's neck. "Yeah, definitely. A lot. Times like, twenty. Twenty _million_."

Ah.

So he really should have said it after all. "Good," Midorima says quietly, buried in Takao's hair. "That would have been far too embarrassing otherwise. Also I want to see you every morning I wake up."

"Ahh, Shin-chan is dumb sometimes," Takao affectionately murmurs, nuzzling up underneath his chin. "You would've had to put up with me forever, anyway. But marriage is a really nice touch, I wanna buy you a really nice ring and if we're in America, we might as well get a chapel and really make everyone have a conniption fit."

Midorima grimaces slightly. "If I ask anyone other than Akashi to be my best man he'll be quite upset. Who do you want, Kuroko or Kagami? I'll take the other. And you'll have to tell me what kind of ring you want, I don't know anything about-never mind, I've just thought of the best one, you'll love it. I want Kagami as my best man, he speaks English and can find me a jeweler."

"Akashi's going to be grumpy," Takao says with a snicker. "But yeah, surprise me about the ring, I don't wanna know. This is gonna be fun-oh, but where are we doing it? Flying everyone up to New York from here would probably be easier, right? And there's a lot of stuff to do up there, I know you've never been, so we can be touristy."

"Don't be ridiculous, we'll do it here and go to New York on our honeymoon," Midorima says, as if he's been planning this for years instead of an hour. "I certainly don't want to see New York while trying not to lose Kuroko and feed Murasakibara's appetite. We'll do it as soon as possible, before everyone starts hating each other again."

"Shin-chan has good ideas," Takao agrees, giving up on sitting up and slowly flopping back down into Midorima's lap. "All of them are so weird. _So weird_. Let's honeymoon for like, a month."

"Mm. Good." Midorima bends down, and down, leaning to brush his lips across Takao's. "Rest assured, I won't require you to take my name."

"Well, I wouldn't _mind_…" he laughs, leaning up a bit to steal another kiss. "But 'Midorima Kazunari' is kind of a mouthful, don't you think?"

"I agree. As is Takao Shintarou, the syllables don't quite harmonize, do they? I'd prefer to give you a different sort of mouthful."

Takao's eyebrows shoot up, amused. "Lewd, Shin-chan. You _must_ be feeling better today."

"I am," Midorima agrees with something like a smile. "And I'm realizing just how long it's been since we've had a day off at the same time."

Takao exhales a long, even breath at that. "God, you're right," he agrees with a laugh, and he promptly lurches upward, flopping against Midorima with enough force to send him back into the mattress as well. "We really deserve this vacation," he firmly says, grinning as he nips at Midorima's nose. "And to spoil ourselves. And, you know, have sex and sleep and eat a lot."

"I approve of these vacation activities," Midorima says with probably more enthusiasm than is appropriate. "I hear there's quite a bit of sun here. I want to experience it. With you, preferably. After the food and sex and sleep."

"Yeah, really good." Takao hums as he plants a kiss on Midorima's mouth, then on his neck, and sort of slowly starts descending from there. "I'm supposed to call Kise-kun at _some_ point… don't forget that we have to be sociable with them for a bit."

"At some point." Midorima's hand comes up to cup Takao's face, thumb brushing gently over his cheekbone. It's been far too long since he's seen Takao in daylight, longer still since he's had the chance to simply _look_ at him. "Thank you for putting up with me. No one else would."

"But there's no putting up with," Takao murmurs, turning his head a bit to press a kiss to the inside of Midorima's wrist. "Shin-chan is killing himself in school, it's gonna take a toll. I _worry_ about you, but there's no tolerating. I just love you a lot."

"It'll be over soon." Another rare smile-today is just a smiley sort of day for him, that's at least one over his daily average and it isn't even ten am. "Then I'll fix everything, I promise."

"Ahhh, not that again." Biting usually works as a distraction, and so Takao sets his teeth to Midorima's hand for a firm nip. "There's nothing to fix."

"There's always something to fix. I'll figure it out." Midorima snatches his hand back-old reflexes, from when nothing was more important than his fingertips-and tugs firmly on Takao's hair. "Even if no one else ever has. I will. Have faith in me."

"I _always_ have faith in Shin-chan," Takao grumbles, shoving his head up against Midorima's hand again like a cat impatient for pettings. "I just don't want you stressing yourself over nonexistent issues. Be happy and content, our lives are _great_, you know."

"I am happy." It's an odd statement, coming from him, and Midorima threads his hand through Takao's hair, leaning down and pulling his face up for a sweet kiss. "But I'll never be content. There's no greatness in being content. That isn't my fate."

"You're already pretty great," Takao points out with a sigh, flopping his arms forward as he leans his head up into the kiss. "_Everyone_ fails at least one class in med school. You get As in everything. I call that achieving greatness already."

"You have low standards for me. I expect more." Midorima strokes a hand down Takao's shoulder, down to his fingers, and intertwines them with his own. "But perhaps for today, all I want to achieve is all the sleeping and eating and sexual activity you mentioned. Call Kise, I want to know when I have to stop doing those good things."

"I think I have low standards for happiness lately, all things considered," Takao admits with a grin, and he steals another kiss before sighing and rolling to the side to grab for his phone. "Ahh… fuck, right, doesn't work in America," he grumps, snatching up the hotel's landline instead and flipping through his cell phone's contacts to find Kise's number. "Maybe they're all hungover," he idly hopes as it rings. "Maybe we'll never have to get out of bed again."

"It's truly a mark of how tired I am that such a proposal sounds unbelievably attractive."

The voice that answers the phone is a bit slurred. "This better be a Miracle, or how did you get this number?"

"Kise-kun sounds like he should be staying in bed for awhile," Takao lowly teases, propping his chin in one hand. "It's Takao. You _did_ tell me to call you whenever we woke up, what's the plan for today?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Get your basketball shoes," Kise says, breaking into a yawn. "We're playing against the Miami Heat. Gonna win a bet for Daikicchi. Meet us at the hotel lobby at noon, yeah?"

This _really_ doesn't sound like something he signed up for. "Uhh… okay then. You go take a shower or something and wake up, see ya." Takao hangs up the phone with a quizzical look shot in Midorima's direction. "Did you agree to play against the Miami Heat last night at some point?"

Midorima thinks slowly back over the previous night, and comes up with nothing. "I don't think so. Did we see Kise's movie last night?"

"Yeah. Oscar bait nonsense." Takao slowly rolls back over, looking decidedly grumpy. "_Apparently_ we're meeting them all at noon, and we're playing against the Miami Heat. Apparently."

Midorima frowns, and slowly trails his hand down Takao's side, down his leg. "We?"

"Well, that's what Kise said," Takao dryly says, eyes lidding. "But I'm sure as hell not that dumb."

"I'll talk to them. We have too many people for a team anyway, and you weren't at Teiko. That should be enough for them." Midorima stretches, rather enjoying the way his legs don't hang off the bed for once. "Ah, American beds are long."

"I'll hold your towels like a real wife instead." Ah, it's more than a little annoying to think about an injury from two years ago, but Takao shoves the irritation away with another grin, wriggling his way back on top of Midorima. "Why haven't we invested in an American bed like this yet? It's big enough for ten of us."

"Because I kept insisting we only needed room for two." Midorima pokes at the bed, and frowns. "Foolishly. I'll order one today, have it delivered in our absence." His arms come up to curl around Takao's waist, sliding down to squeeze his ass. "Show me why we need one?"

"Shin-chan is full of good ideas today," Takao purrs, his back arching with his next, breathy exhale. "It's been so long… you better decide what you want, first of all."

"It has been far too long, hasn't it?" Midorima asks, a bit chagrined. He thinks back-yes, the last time they'd both had a day off they hadn't spent sleeping was New Year's. And if he isn't much mistaken, it's currently summer. Ah.

He runs his hands slowly up Takao's back, feeling the play of lean muscles under his fingers, and sighs. "I want to feel all of you, on top of me like this."

"Good, because I wanna climb you like a tree," Takao says with a grin, mouthing a kiss beneath Midorima's chin. "Shin-chan got prettier even if he got a little bit crazier," he teases, kissing his way down each lean, long muscle, his tongue dipping into Midorima's navel. "One of these days, someone's gonna try to steal you."

"That," Midorima says slowly, hands coming up to thread through the dark silk of Takao's hair, "would be a foolish, wasted effort." He tilts Takao's face up, cupping his hands, and smirks. "As you well know. It'll be over soon, I won't have to bother you anymore."

"_Bother_ me?" Takao muffles a laugh as he tips his head to press a kiss to Midorima's hand. "You've never bothered me. Made me _laugh_ for sure, but…" He grins, nuzzling his way back down and catching his teeth on the hem of Midorima's underwear, tugging them down with a firm yank. "Shin-chan thinks he's a lot higher maintenance than he actually is," Takao murmurs, eyes lidding as he flicks his tongue teasingly over the tip of Midorima's cock, breathing out a sigh through his nose. "Mostly, you're just a lot of fun."

Midorima's head lolls back onto the pillow as he takes a deep, shuddering breath. "Takao," he breathes, and it comes out hoarse, needy. He shifts, thighs parting to let Takao kneel between them. His skin goes tight, achingly hot, all the consciousness, all the nerve endings in his body focused on a few scant inches of aching flesh, and every tiny swipe of that teasing tongue. Hands hit the bed as his arms give out, and Midorima is suddenly, painfully aware of just how long it's been since they've fucked. Something like a lump wells up in Midorima's throat, and he swallows hard, eyes burning. "Please."

Ahh, yeah, it really _has_ been awhile, hasn't it?

Normally, Takao would make a grab for a condom-Shin-chan loves watching him put it on with his mouth, and that's _fun_ as well-but the taste of him right now makes Takao groan, makes his fingers splay over those lean hips and hold him in place while he eagerly wraps his mouth around him, tongue dragging a messy, wet slide down the length of him. "God, Shin-chan," he groans, eyes fluttering as he draws back with a wet pop. "You're already so hard-you wanna fuck my mouth first? I love the way you taste."

Midorima feels Takao's fingers more deeply than usual, and _knows_ he needs to take time to eat more lately. He can barely think of such things when Takao's sucking on him like an old, treasured sweet, like he's savoring the flavor like he usually does with those ridiculous flavored condoms that Midorima misses so much. "Let me," he pleads, hips twitching up over and over involuntarily, tears pricking the corners of his eyes from how _hard_ he is, and the words just tumble out of his lips. "Kazu, _please_-"

A shudder rakes through Takao's whole body, the _rumble_ of his name from Midorima's lips so intimately making his own cock ache. _Far_ more important, though, is how Midorima throbs against his lips, and Takao only holds him down a moment longer, just long enough to let his mouth slide down the full length of him, swallowing hard when Midorima bumps against the back of his throat, hard and aching and dripping and twitching with every wriggle of his tongue, and Takao glances up through his lashes in wordless approval, wordless urging.

Midorima thinks he sees some sort of _yes_ in Takao's face. He hopes he does, because his control snaps like an overstrained rubber band. A strangled groan comes from his mouth, and his hands tighten in Takao's hair-fuck it, Takao will forgive him. He yanks the other man down hard, hips snapping up to fill his mouth again and again, bumping hard against the back of his throat and unable to stop, unable to care when he's this close, this achingly close to completion.

Something like an apology might be on his lips, but it's been _months_ since the last time and Takao's mouth is too good and familiar, like a half-remembered favorite flavor. Midorima doesn't even have time to shout before he spills over his tongue, pulsing hot and wet and far too much, knowing it'll spill out of Takao's mouth and down his chin and not even bothering to protest the mess as he shakes, everything gone swirls and starbursts in his eyes.

Slowly, Takao draws back, muffling a cough as he blinks tears from his eyes and licks half-heartedly at bruised lips. "Shin-chan… still comes a _lot_," he breathes, wiping his fingers over his chin before he wriggles up, dragging them over Midorima's lips before gently coaxing them in to twist against his tongue. "See how good you taste? I've really missed it."

Midorima moans, a little less-than-conscious, eyes fluttering as his chest heaves. His tongue curls and strokes down Takao's fingers, lips sealing around them as he sucks. Slowly, his head tips back against the pillow, and he groans, "That's filthy, you know."

"Mmhm," is the pleased sigh to follow, a languid grin on Takao's face as he presses a wet kiss to the side of Midorima's neck. "But you like it. Ahh, Shin-chan, I'm still really hard," he whines, hips twitching forward to slowly grind against Midorima's stomach. "Turn over, I sorta want to fuck you within an inch of your life."

Midorima turns over as fast as his twitching limbs will let him, a low groan his only noise. He raises up onto his knees, spreading his legs shakily. "Condom," he mutters, even though he'll probably die before Takao can put it on. "I'm not going to play basketball later while _dripping_."

"That sounds kinda hot, though," Takao muses, even as he lunges over the side of the bed, clawing into a bag for the nearest condom. "Then you'd _really_ be thinking of me the whole time. Ah, but you're gonna be sore either way," he teases, exhaling a long, ragged sigh as he carefully rolls the condom over his cock, even _that_ much of a touch absolutely torture when he knows he's about to fuck Midorima for the first time in months, knows it's going to be _good_, and god, if they aren't both _eager_ for it.

"It's a good thing you already came, Shin-chan." His breath hitches as he leans down, mouthing kisses down Midorima's spine as his hand, slick with lube, drags over his own cock. Takao's hips twitch forward, his cock dragging slick and hard against the curve of the other man's ass. "Otherwise, you'd be so wound up I'd _never_ get it in."

Midorima groans, shoving himself back as much as he can, spreading his knees wider on the bed, rutting back against the hard slide of Takao's cock. He closes his eyes, not wanting to know what he looks like, knowing it's something wanton and whorish and not caring, hands flexing and grabbing in the sheets. "Don't tease," he half-whispers, because it's been _way_ too long for that, and Takao's got him so far on edge he almost has a headache from it. His voice trails down to a low growl, and one hand fumbles backwards to claw urgently at any part of Takao he can reach, all traces of propriety gone. "Fuck me."

"God, you look like a whore when you do that," Takao manages to rasp out, muffling a groan into Midorima's skin when he lurches up to place a quick, sharp bite to the back of his neck. He grabs his cock with one hand, claws at one hip with the other to hold Midorima _still_, and even with him having already come once, already being _relaxed_ as far as Midorima gets, it still takes effort, almost doesn't go.

Takao groans when the head finally pops inside, the squeeze of muscles around him turning his breath to a hiss, and he huffs out a hot, ragged breath against Midorima's back, grabbing at his hips, fingers tight and trembling around them when he gives up being _careful_ and just shoves forward, sinking in to the hilt with one hard thrust. "Fuck-_fuck_, Shin-chan, you're perfect," he mutters, his breath ragged, biting his own lip when he can't help but look down, _has_ to see where they're connected, and that sends a hard shiver down his spine.

Midorima's voice is more of a choked sob than anything. His muscles _collapse_, and he sags down to the bed, only held up by Takao's hands on his hips, yanking him back onto that thick, familiar, perfect cock. He tries to say something, tries to encourage Takao to give him _more_, but it feels like the first time, so tight and hot and _full_. It's been far, far too long since he's had Takao inside of him, and he bites weakly on the bed to accommodate the stretch, panting out ragged breaths. Every thrust sends electricity up his spine, every slap of their hips together makes him choke back a scream-

Until he can't choke them back anymore, and he doesn't even know what nonsense he's screaming into his pillow, shoving himself back on Takao's cock over and over again, begging with every fiber of his body.

Takao doesn't know what mercy he's been granted to last at _all_ when Midorima is like this, but he's _glad_. It's all those little screams, all the whines and broken groans and the way he can feel Midorima's chest heave when he's half-sobbing, half-struggling for a full breath that he gets to savor, and that just makes his cock _throb_ when he shoves in as deep as he can, his own voice a choked back noise that's really, really not words. Midorima is tight enough around him that it hurts, makes his eyes cross when he slides in so slick and deep and hard that he can't breathe, and his hands are definitely leaving bruises over Midorima's hips with every yank back onto his cock.

"You're gonna come on my cock already, aren't you? _God_, you're made for this," Takao shakily whispers, raking one hand up to grab a fistful of Midorima's hair, wrenching him up from the pillow so he can better hear the way he screams and _mewls_ when he shoves in so deep that skin slaps obscenely against skin.

Midorima lets out a groan of protest at the _embarrassment_ of having to hear himself, but that doesn't last long. No thoughts last long in his head when Takao is fucking him like this, shoving in deep and hard and brutal, and Midorima can't help but scream.

He screams when he comes, his whole body heaving with every drag of Takao's cock inside of him. He's done all the research on sex and the male body, knows where his prostate is and how to stimulate it, but that's never been something he really needs with Takao. It's that utter _fullness_, the sensation of a thick cock shoved deep into him over and over, and above all Takao's voice purring obscene sweet nothings in his ears that always does him in.

He gasps for air, nowhere close to coming down as he lets out more embarrassing noises, half-conscious whimpers and groans, sagging down to the bed as Takao pumps inside him over and over, not sure if he needs it to be over or wants it to go on forever.

If there's one thing Takao will never, _ever_ get tired of, it's the way Midorima sounds when he comes, the way he shudders and arches and keeps making all those perfect noises long, _long_ after he's spent. Takao groans, shoving Midorima's face down into the bed again, biting and scratching and marking up every bit of skin he can get his hands on (_god_, he hopes someone sees it later) as he fucks Midorima hard, shoves his cock in as deep as it'll go, savors every shudder and twitch and tight, _tight_ squeeze around him before he's just as lost, muffling a broken, whining moan into Midorima's back when he comes, shoved in as deep as he can be as he rides out every lingering shiver.

Midorima tries to say something. It comes out as a low, pathetic groan, and he feels the tears streaking down his face as he clenches involuntarily down on Takao's cock, everything oversensitive and throbbing. His face hurts, his ass hurts, his hips hurt, his back hurts from being arched so tightly it aches, and he loses his grip on the sheets, knees slipping out from under him as he collapses. He licks his lips, trying for speech again. "Kazu….do it again."

"F…five minutes," Takao hisses out, his eyes blurring a little as he _carefully_ pulls out, everything so over-sensitive that it hurts just peeling off the condom. Maybe more than five minutes, then. He groans, flopping to the side with an arm thrown over his face. "Shin-chan is too good, I'm all melty."

Midorima swallows around dry lips, nuzzling into Takao's shoulder. "Was it like that," he pants, trembling fingers braced on the broad flat planes of Takao's chest, "when we were doing it all the time? This feels….more stressful than I remember. In a good way."

"Maybe we were just in better shape," Takao points out with a grin, swinging an arm around Midorima to drag him close. "Maybe," he sighs, turning his head to the side and burying it partially into Midorima's hair, "we should hold off until after you play that game, hmm? You're gonna hate me if you're so sore that running around a court sucks."

A displeased little noise comes from Midorima's throat, but he nuzzles down harder anyway. "Then promise to take me twice as hard tonight," he agrees, voice rasping a bit. "Ah, we're going to have to stock up on all the things we've let expire. Condoms, lubricant, throat lozenges, those nice stamina things you had…"

"I promise. But man, American condoms suck," Takao grumbles, twisting around to sling a leg over Midorima's hip. "Wish we both hadn't been exhausted while packing for this trip. Ah well, some of our stuff would have been hilarious to get through customs, anyway. It's probably for the best."

Midorima trails a finger down Takao's neck, down his shoulder, his arm, to reach his hand and intertwine their fingers. "Do you know what we always meant to do and kept forgetting? Make that video."

"… _You're_ in a mood," Takao lowly teases, giving Midorima's hand a slow, even squeeze as he nuzzles up underneath his chin. "Yeah. We'll definitely do that. If we're gonna honeymoon, we might as well do it really, really right."

"I am in a mood," Midorima admits, and brings Takao's hand to his lips, brushing a kiss over his ring finger. "I think I'd like to stay in one."

"Shin-chan's gonna make me blush," Takao murmurs, heat rising to his cheeks even as he says it. "When do I get to brag about being engaged to a really hot, successful guy, hmm? I'd insist on doing it at lunch, but I think most of them will be hungover and it'll be lost on them."

"You can tell them whenever you want." Midorima slowly nibbles on a fingertip, tugging it between his teeth. "As long as it doesn't take away from the time you're going to spend fucking me."

"… Sooo, do you _really_ want to play basketball against the Miami Heat?" Takao presses with a light, breathy laugh. His fingers curl slowly, very, very pleased at the attention. "Starting to think you're gonna be too horny to do it, anyway."

Midorima sighs. "Not really," he admits, "but I don't want to be the reason the team loses against them, either. With me on the team, of course, it will have a very different outcome."

"Yeah, Shin-chan is way too awesome," Takao sighs, pouting a little at the reminder that _he_ won't get to play. "They're gonna want you for the NBA or something. Make sure you say 'no'; I've spent way too long giving you tranquilizer shots for you to change your mind about careers."

"Pass. I have a career that won't require me to reconfigure my life in the next decade." Midorima trails a hand down, squeezing Takao's thigh. "And soon, I'll be far enough along in my field to make a difference." He clears his throat, then says, "I was going to wait to tell you, but….the Chief of Medicine has approved my early graduation. My residency starts when the hospital reopens."

"Ahh, really? That's fantastic! Wow, I'm glad we're gonna be working in entirely different departments, though-me still being a student while you've actually got a plaque on the wall is a little awkward," Takao laughs, wriggling closer to press a warm kiss to Midorima's mouth. "Such an overachiever. Don't kill yourself when you're actually a doctor, either; I'll be mad."

Midorima holds the kiss, sucking softly on Takao's lip. "Don't be ridiculous. I only did that so I could graduate two years early and start working on your case. I'll be working from ten to six now."

"I'm really thankful and everything, but my knee's not gonna _fall off_, you know-you wanted to be a hand surgeon, work on hands," Takao grumbles, giving Midorima's lips a gentle nip before drawing back.

"I can work on hands and become a world-renown reconstructive hand specialist and work on your knee as well," Midorima says, a bit affronted at the idea that he'd have to choose just one. "You doubt my skills?"

"I'm gonna _knee you_ in the gut. You know I don't doubt you, I just don't want you to worry about it as much as you always do."

Midorima catches his hand, looking into his eyes as he pulls slightly back. "And if you could jog up stairs again?" he asks quietly. "If you could go on morning runs with me and play basketball again? I'm going to make it happen, Kazu."

Takao opens his mouth, then shuts it again, brow furrowing before he gives up with a long sigh and just stuffs his face into Midorima's shoulder. "I don't stand a chance of arguing with you when you do that."

"Good. That's how I like my arguments to go." Midorima kisses the top of his head, then covers them both firmly with the blanket. "We have an hour still. I'm not moving."

"Moving is overrated," Takao agrees, burying himself contently underneath the blanket, and against Midorima (perhaps attempting to meld with him), at that. "We might even need to be fashionably late. They'll wait for you."

"Of course they will. I'm the crux of that team." Midorima wraps his arms around Takao, sighing out a breath through his nose. "But we won't be late. I'm never late. Except to make a statement."

"So make a statement. You're already kinda scratched and bitten up, they're gonna see," Takao points out with a grin.

Midorima smiles, closing his eyes. "We'll see in an hour."

An hour comes and goes, and Takao still feels a little ragged when they finally make it out. Sleeping more (really, _fucking_ more) would be preferred, but at least he doesn't look as bad as _some_ of their friends. Kuroko in particular looks like he was hit by a bus, and sits rather precariously on the edge of a chair, half-bent over and only sitting up (creakily) to accept smooshed and balled-up slices of bread from Kagami. "Uh," Takao offers, blinking rapidly.

"The bread needs to be punished," Kuroko solemnly says, eyes lidded as he takes a slow bite out of one of the bread balls. "It's my proxy."

"… Oh," Takao says, nodding as if he understands. "Right. Morning-uh, afternoon, everyone."

"Hi!" Kise calls, sprawled out languidly across Aomine's legs like an exhausted cat. He can't quite resist the urge to poke occasionally where he _knows_ there are bruises under the well-tanned skin. He looks up, looking emphatically better after several ibuprofen and a strong double espresso. "You two look…." His eyes wander down over Midorima, who does a terrible job not blushing. "Like you've been busy."

"Just die already," Midorima mutters, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

Kagami balls up another piece of bread, squishing out all the air and handing it wordlessly over to Kuroko. "So are we going to play, or what?"

Kuroko squishes the bread up a bit more, takes a bite, and then shoves it back to Kagami before making a hasty exit.

"… _Can_ he even play? Geez, it's noon, you'd think he'd be over a hangover by now," Takao sympathetically observes as he reaches up to idly poke at a bite mark rather boldly standing out against Midorima's neck.

"Tetsu drank more than all of us," Aomine sighs, giving Kise a languid, half-hearted shove that does very little to dislodge him. "But he'll live. You that eager to have your ass kicked, Kagami?"

"Suuuddenly glad I'm not involved with this," Takao wryly notes underneath his breath. That much testosterone and posturing-nope, no, thank you.

"Not involved?" Kagami asks, frowning. "I know you aren't exactly part of the Generation of Miracles, but we're gonna need to sub you in for Kuroko sometimes. You're the only person who can dart around passing like that."

"Kuroko and Akashi can alternate," Midorima says firmly, hating himself for not having fixed Takao's injury by now. True, it isn't exactly life-threatening, but he should have _fixed_ it by now.

"Pfft, you guys don't want me playing, anyway-this is supposed to be a Generation of Miracles thing, right? Well, and Kagami-kun, but you might as well be one, anyway," Takao dismisses with a wave of his hand.

"It's good that you don't assume yourself to be on our level."

Ah, _nothing_ makes him twitch like that little snot-nosed-_ugh_. Takao grits his teeth and _smiles_, priding himself on his ability to not reach over and wraps his hands around Akashi's neck when he appears, tucking his cellphone into his pocket. "Has Tetsuya still not recovered?" he mildly asks of Kagami, ignoring Takao completely. "It would be a shame to not have him in today's game."

Kagami sets his teeth-something about that smug bastard always sort of makes him do that. "He'll be fine. He's stronger than he looks. I'd think you'd have realized that by now." _Asshole, how many times do we have to beat you before you realize you're not the "Emperor" you think you are?_

"Akashicchi," Kise calls, rolling slowly over on top of Aomine, giving his ass a hidden pinch, "did you come alone?"

Aomine gives Kise's ass a not-so-hidden pinch, and downs back his fourth coffee of the day.

The look Akashi shoots Kise is annoyed-unnecessarily, really. "Yes. You know, Ryouta, it isn't attractive to act like a cat in heat in public."

"Wow, okay," Takao brightly says, waving as he trots off. "I'm gonna go check on Kuroko-kun, you all keep doing the bitchy thing! Kagami-kun, you should help me, I'm not carrying him if he's dead." _Take this offer for escape and use it wisely._

Kagami stands, stretching out sore limbs, and follows Takao into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and raking his fingers gently back through Kuroko's sweat-damp hair. "So," he asks quietly, side-eying Takao, "what's wrong with you?"

"Eh? Oh," Takao waves off, wetting a paper towel and pressing it to Kuroko's forehead as he sort of lolls back against Kagami limply. "Dumb knee thing. Remember when I sat out the last couple of games in our senior university year? I tore the hell out of my left ACL, kept playing on it, and realized later that night when it was about the size of a volleyball. Shin-chan's still mad about it. That's why he-ah, right, you two never are at the hospital. He gets mad about me going up stairs, it's funny."

"I didn't know you had a dumb knee thing," Kuroko softly says. "I wouldn't have suggested you play. You always seemed fine in the games we played for fun." He blinks up at Kagami. "Is Akashi-kun grumpy this morning? I just really don't want to throw up on him."

"… What the hell did you _do_ last night?" Takao wryly asks.

"More like _who_," Kagami mutters before he can stop himself, a stupid grin trying to tug at the corners of his mouth. "Ah, Kuroko drank way too much. Dumbass, are you even going to be able to play today? If you do throw up, make sure to do it on Akashi, I want to see his stupid face."

"I can play," Kuroko defensively mutters. "I can do it. I don't want to throw up on Akashi-kun, though, he might sic Murasakibara-kun on me."

"A pity, that," Takao agrees, his eyebrows raising. "… So _who_ did you-"

"I'm going to go punish more bread." Just like that, Kuroko is gone, and Takao offers Kagami a pointed stare.

Kagami shrugs. "We're secure in our relationship. Not my fault if a couple internationally famous guys were fighting to get into my pants." Damn, he wants to brag and be cool, but he can't stop the heat from rising in his cheeks like he's a damn teenager. "Ah, it was probably really dumb, but it was so crazy, man, I swear I don't even know how it happened, one minute we were at the party, the next…." He spreads his hands, at a loss.

"Ah. Kise, then," Takao deduces, deciding just to leave it at that. "Welp, if that's your thing, go for it. Just, uh. Don't be surprised if Shin-chan sprays you with disinfectant out of the blue, he's got a _thing_ about Kise and all the things he touches."

"You don't have to _tell_ anyone," Kagami growls, face burning at the idea of everyone talking about it. "They're….damn. I never guessed it was like that."

"… You never looked at Kise-kun and thought…-ah, never mind, you're lucky. At least he never propositioned you in a coffee shop."

Kagami's head tilts. "Uh, no. He never did that." Oh well, maybe Kise just wants to suck everyone's dick. It hadn't made him feel _terribly_ special in the first place anyway.

"Just because he's an international superstar doesn't mean he's a good idea!" Takao cheerfully says, clapping a hand onto Kagami's shoulder. "Condoms are safe and fun! Remember that for the duration of the trip. Oh, also, fair warning, Shin-chan's gonna want you for your English skills later."

Damn it, Kagami can't really keep quiet about it anymore. "What makes you think he's the one I-"

Nope, he was wrong, he can't say it out loud. Time to change the subject. "What does he need my English help for?" he asks hastily. "I'm a little rusty, I've barely spoken it for years."

"Ehh, you'll find out later, and I'm sure you'll be fine. Also, if you did Aomine, too, then the same condom thing applies. Geez, you were busy last night, weren't you?" Takao tsks, brushing past him.

Face flaming, Kagami follows him back to the main room, just in time to see Murasakibara picking Kuroko up by the waist, looking concerned. "Kuro-chin, you're kinda green."

"Murasakibara-kun, please don't pick me up right now."

"Atsushi. Don't shake him up."

"Ahh, can we jump ship and go out to eat somewhere nice instead?" Takao sighs, draping himself against Midorima's side. "Being your towel boy is great and all, but…"

Murasakibara tilts his head, then sets Kuroko down. "I used to think I could drink a lot of green drinks and turn my skin green," he says solemnly, "but it didn't work. Well, it _did_, but only when I felt really sick. Aka-chin took them away after that."

"We're not jumping ship. I got out of bed for this," Midorima rebukes Takao, tugging on his hair.

"Yeah, I've been waiting too long to go up against the Ace of the Miami Heat," Kagami agrees, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Waiting to lose, more like," Aomine snorts, giving Kise another shove to finally get him out of his lap. "Sorry, guys, but you're all gonna get your asses handed to you today."

"I suppose it's good to know you never change, Daiki," Akashi boredly replies. "It makes you even easier to predict."

"Bread punishments aren't doing anything," Kuroko bemoans underneath his breath, and promptly slumps forward with his head between his legs. "I give up…"

Murasakibara looks down at Kuroko for a moment, then disappears into the small kitchen in Kise's suite.

"I'm not playing without Kuroko," Kagami says, a small frown on his face as he lifts Kuroko onto his lap, a hand making soothing circles on his back. "That wouldn't really be the team."

"I can play." Kuroko starts tipping to the side. "Aomine-kun, how upset will the Heat be if I throw up on them…"

"… Pretty upset," Aomine deadpans, making a solid attempt at not looking worried (and sort of failing at the end, ugh). "Geez, Tetsu, just lie down for a bit… oi, Kagami, don't let him get so drunk next time."

"Me let him?" Kagami demands, outraged. "You're the one who was wanting him to drink more, I just-"

"Kuro-chin," Murasakibara interrupts, returning from the kitchen with a glass of what looks like seafoam made liquid, "drink this. My master in chocolatier studies made me make him one every morning after we made the Jamaican Rum bon bons and he took all the bottles home."

"Ah… thank you, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko murmurs, sitting up enough to gratefully take the glass. "Can you please not talk about any more food until I feel better, though?"

"I didn't exactly hold a gun to his head and tell him to drink-_you_ kept humoring him and letting him have your beers, too-"

"They had a foursome last night," Takao whispers into Midorima's ear. "I can't tell if it was good or bad."

Midorima makes a sound that intimates projectile liquid, had he been currently drinking anything. "I _knew_ I should have worn surgical gloves," he mutters, wiping his hands on his pants and trying to remember which surfaces he's touched since coming inside.

"Have fun-just remember it's gonna be a lot of Kuroko-kun passing you that ball today, and there's no telling where his hands have been," Takao (evilly) sing-songs underneath his breath.

The look Midorima shoots him is nothing less than panicked. If he'd been bad in high school, after learning about diseases in medical school it's grown a thousandfold. "What is it going to cost me for you to make Kuroko disinfect himself?" he asks desperately in what probably is not a whisper.

"Ehh, I'm pretty sure he already did, though. It's just, you know-residual _Kise_ germs."

"Mido-chin, you look like you're going to go greener than your hair. I'll make you a hangover drink, too."

"Oi," Kise objects, raising up onto his elbows. "Why am _I _the one with germs?"

"Kise-kun travels a lot and touches everyone," Kuroko logically suggests, wrapped up around his drink like it's his last ally.

"He's also kind of a slut," Aomine says without batting an eye.

"Hey! I don't want to hear that coming from you," Kise says with a pout at Aomine. "I don't touch _everyone_, I'm pickier than that."

"I dunno, you were touching a lot of people last night."

"I'm going to head out," Akashi irritably cuts in. "Shintarou. You are not allowed to be sick, too. Pull yourself together, I am sure everyone is quite sanitary."

Kise rolls off of Aomine, standing between Akashi and the door. "You can't leave us without a point guard! Not against the Miami Heat!"

Akashi stares up at him. "Just because I have no desire to ride in the same car as the rest of you hardly means I am leaving you without a point guard, Ryouta. Go sit down and _do_ refrain from telling me what to do in the future. Atsushi, you may come with me if you like."

"… I'm about to play anyway, just to save you all the torture of _that_," Takao deadpans when the door shuts behind Akashi. "Is it just me, or is he worse than usual?"

"He's cranky for some reason," Kise muses, flopping back and kicking up his feet. "Usually he's either really nice or he's threatening to kill our families. Pissy is a new one for him."

"I think I've recovered," Kuroko announces, setting his mostly empty glass aside. "Kagami-kun, please never let me drink that much again, even if it was fun at the time. Also, if you just don't poke Akashi-kun, he will calm down and be fine."

"Eh, he's probably jealous that we've all got hook-ups and he doesn't," Takao sighs out. "Or at least he's bored out of his mind. That'll make anyone cranky."

"Then let's entertain him. Kuroko," Midorima asks, flexing his left hand and ignoring the unevenness of his nails, "are you recovered from your purging? I want to go see how this team of Aomine's really stands up."

"Mm. I'm fine now. Though you wanted to disinfect me a few moments ago," Kuroko mildly points out. "Maybe I shouldn't pass to you."

"I want to disinfect all of you most of the time," Midorima says crisply.

"Midorimacchi's just weird like that," Kise says, all cheerful charm as he slings an arm around Kuroko's shoulders, tugging him towards the door and knowing Kagami will follow. "I had them call us a van taxi down at the lobby, let's go!"

Akashi's mood doesn't improve by the time the game starts, as it so happens.

"We are doing this quickly and efficiently," is his snappish order right from the beginning. "If any of you lag behind, I _will_ replace you with the gimpy one."

"Um?" Takao irritably puts in, only to be thoroughly ignored and making him conclude that Akashi Seijuurou, as per usual, is a bag of dicks.

"Just give the ball to Midorima." Akashi then offers Kagami a bored stare. "_You_ aren't half the scorer that Aomine is, after all."

Even as positively _rude_ as the words are, the plan does seem to have a considerable amount of merit, what with how impossible it is to stop Midorima when he shoots from across the court. Bonus points include when Aomine grumpily declares himself tired and tries to sit out for half a quarter, only to quickly change his mind when sitting isn't much better than running himself ragged on the court.

"I don't think I've ever seen such a moody bunch of weirdos in my life," Takao flatly declares when Akashi decides to keep himself in and kicks Kise out instead. Ah, well. At least Shin-chan looks really good...

Kagami wipes sweat from his brow, for all the good that does, and takes off running again as Kise flops down to the bench to grab a towel. "Those Heat are _rough_," he gasps, slumping forward and bracing his forearms on his knees. "And they're all _huge_, man. It's a damn good thing they only have one Miracle, or we'd be toast. Ah, come on, Murasakibaracchi, crush him! Ooh, ouch…"

"Don't know what else you expected," Takao wryly offers, shoving a bottle of water in Kise's direction. It's tough, watching a game like this and _knowing_ there's no way he'd be able to keep up, no matter how he wants to. Whatever-_whatever_, he'll vent it out in sex later or something. "Don't you still go against your boyfriend one-on-one all the time? You should be a little more used to this."

"Yeah, man, it's more like...I'm too used to one on one," Kise admits, then guzzles half the bottle, pouring the other half over his head. "Not so much running in one on one, you know? When we do it, it's all agility. This is just…." He grimaces. "A little too much run-and-gun. I can't focus on copying when everyone's moving so fast."

"Ehh, fair enough," Takao sympathetically sighs, eyes lidded as he follows (not without a small twitch of irritation) how _deftly_ Akashi moves on the court, all to insure that he gets his hands on the ball, and from there, to Midorima. It shouldn't annoy him so much. It really shouldn't, but it does all the same. "That should be me," he sourly grumbles underneath his breath, and then, louder: "Man, just be glad that the Heat need some serious tweaking in their playbook-otherwise you'd all be finished already."

"They can't adjust fast enough," Kise says, and holds out a hand for another water bottle. "They're not used to playing anyone as eccentric as us. And-I mean, I'm me, and Akashicchi's a weirdly good point guard, and Kurokocchi enhances whoever he plays against, and Kagamicchi and Aominecchi kinda cancel each other out, but they don't have shit to do about Midorimacchi."

Takao tries not to get even more cross by the moment and just passes another water bottle over. "Yeah. Shin-chan's just not fair. Smart plan, Akashi had-just give him the fucking ball and go. Ahh, just hurry up and win and then we can gooo, I wanna go do things that don't involve sitting and waiting," he grumpily mutters, restlessly grabbing a water bottle for himself.

Kise raises an eyebrow. "You so impatient to get out of here?" he asks, eyes tracking the ball, losing it when it blurs past Kuroko, and finding it again as Murasakibara roars a challenge and dunks it over some poor guy's head. "Midorimacchi looked a little bit chewed up today, I'd think you'd be full."

"For the past couple of years, we've had sex like three times. I think I'm used to waiting for _that_ by now," Takao huffs, making a valiant effort not to pout when Midorima catches a pass from Akashi and takes the shot from _well_ over half the court away. "I just don't like watching games Shin-chan plays in if I can't play in them. And we have other stuff planned-no offense, but winning a bet against your boytoy isn't really on the top of our list."

Kise blinks. "Seriously? I _love_ watching them all play. It's all so different when you're on the sidelines, right? And you get to see it _all_," he enthuses, watching the lines of Aomine's body as he leaps, twists in midair, and dashes around Kagami. "God, doesn't that just work you up like nothing the hell else?"

Maybe he's getting bitter, but the answer is a thoroughly annoyed, resounding _no_ that Takao barely bites back. "Maybe I'm just not used to being on the bench. People watching is one thing, but if it's an actual game, I just wanna play."

Kise shrugs. "If you wanna be cranky, I guess…" He takes a swig of water, eyes flicking between Kuroko and Akashi and Aomine and Kagami, a little shiver going down his spine. "Have you never been on the bench before? It's not _that_ bad, not everyone can be a starter all the time."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I'm not trying to be cranky, Akashi just puts me in a bad mood every time he shows up," Takao waves off with a sigh. Right. Focusing on good things-like how Midorima looks fucking _perfect_ every time he takes a shot, and that seems to be more and more often as time goes on. "Though I can't remember the last time I was really on the bench, either. I'm not good at sitting still and waiting." _Which is how you got yourself into this mess, likely._

"Looks like they're wrapping it up." Kise laughs, leaning back onto his folded hands, watching three-pointer after three-pointer sail through the net. "I knew it, they're sort of helpless against Murasakibaracchi and Midorimacchi. Ah, Aominecchi's gonna be maaaad."

Takao wonders how long it'll take until the offers from the NBA roll in. "What do you get if you win the bet? An endless book of sex coupons?"

"He already owes me that for last night. This is just for fun."

"Knew it," Takao sighs, rolling his eyes skyward-just in time to see another basketball sail upward. "Don't pull Kagami-kun's strings like that anymore, his heart can't take it."

Kise grins. "Was he bragging about his conquests? I know he was _very_ excited to hear about how much I wanted him, oh, yes."

"You're _awful_, you know that?" It's kind of hard not to laugh, but _geez_.

Kise rolls his eyes. "As if you aren't _just_ as bad," he counters, leaning back onto his hands. "Marking up his neck like that, all the flirting and bragging you guys used to do all the time…"

"Ummm, I think we're a _little_ different," Takao wryly points out. "For one, we don't roll around and have awkward foursomes that involve ex-boyfriends and other weirdness."

"Oh, _one time_," Kise scoffs. "Like you two have never done anything perverted?"

"Yeah. With _each other_. Dude," Takao quickly adds, holding up a hand, "I don't care _what_ you do. I'm just saying-leading people on so you all get a piece of their boyfriend, too? That's a little…"

Kise raises an eyebrow. "He got his dick sucked," he says mildly. "I didn't _touch_ his boyfriend, except for a damn kiss. He's been weird around Daikicchi for years, I wanted to make it better."

Takao's head tilts. "Fixing weird sex things with more sex-eh, well, I guess they're _talking_… you know, when Kuroko-kun wasn't tossing his cookies."

"He has a weak stomach. If anyone has the right to be sore today, it's Daikicchi." Kise smirks. "Hell, I was jealous of him last night."

Takao spares a look at Aomine, eyebrows raised. "_Really_. Huh. Guess he's playing pretty well, then, all things considered. Hey, just so we're clear, please don't ever try that stuff with Shin-chan and I."

Kise snorts. "I told you, I'm picky. You guys are _way_ too weird for me, and Midorimacchi's like twenty thousand kinds of no. Pass. Ultra pass."

Takao makes a face. "_Rude_. There's nothing pass about him, he's _gorgeous_. You're just mad that he talks about disinfecting you-which, okay, I can get why."

"You're welcome to keep him." Kise shakes his head. "It's not that, it's that he's just really un-sexy. You know? Like…look at the way Daikicchi moves. And Kurokocchi's _adorable_, and even Kagamicchi's got that whole intense feral masculinity thing. Midorimacchi's just kind of awkward and probably tastes like cold beans."

"… That actually makes it taste really sweet, just so you know," Takao offers with a snort of laughter. "Awkward guys are _cute_, though. Also-" Whoops, Shin-chan's going to kill him if he finds out, but he's already reaching for his cellphone. "Put him on his back, and he's really not so awkward," he cheerfully adds, flipping open to an album and pushing it into Kise's face.

Kise's first reaction is to shrink away and make a face, possibly a gagging noise, but morbid curiosity makes him flip through.

Ah.

_Oh_.

His eyebrows raise, and he flips through several more, then back, then through again. "Damn. You two have _no_ right to call us perverts."

"I was more so criticizing the _morality_ of your magical adventures in the bedroom-but, whatever." Takao reaches for his phone, looking very pleased with himself. "Gimme. You don't get to keep looking for long, Shin-chan's mine."

Kise hands back the phone with a shrug. "I look better on my back," he says, but it's really not a come-on, more of a pouty observation to himself. "Does he shut up during sex?"

Takao smugly pockets the phone. "He has worse ones on his phone. And why would I want him to shut up? He's a screamer and it's good."

"Seriously? Him? A screamer?" Kise's eyes widen, and he tries to picture it, then flinches. "Nah, man, I can only imagine him screaming at me that I'm doing it wrong."

"That's because he was your team mom for years. It's okay, just means more for me," Takao says, grinning. "You keep your crazy thing and I'll keep mine."

"Sure," Kise says easily, watching Aomine blow past Kagami to dunk, only to get the favor returned less than a minute later. "As long as Team Dad doesn't get you in his sights."

"Team Dad's gonna get a punch in the face if he even thinks about it."

"Relax, I was just teasing. I don't think he has much time or patience for all of us anymore, really. Not even sure why he came."

"Feels obligated," Takao offers on a sigh, relaxing a fraction and slumping forward to let his elbows rest on his knees. "Something's got him all twitchy, that's for sure. I guess it's for the best, he hasn't been tormenting Shin-chan like he normally does. Ahh, only two minutes left, I think Kuroko-kun's gonna die."

Kise rolls his eyes. "Not worth it, we don't need him. Oi, Kuroko!" he calls, standing up and stripping off his big tee-shirt. "Tap me in, I want to finish!"

It's less a tap, more of a flop. "Murasakibara-kun's drink only lasts for so long," Kuroko miserably huffs out. "All that running and it's really hot and-"

"Ahhh, in the trash, in the trash," Takao hastily says, grabbing Kuroko at the last second to arrange him in the _best_ possible way to toss up his, uh, punishment bread. Thank god for all those hours in the hospital dealing with this sort of thing. "Kick their asses, Kise!"

If the game were a battle, the ending would be a rout. Kise leaps in fresh, catching Akashi's passes as if no time has passed since Teiko, turning to wink to Takao before copying his own techniques and delivering the ball lightning-fast to Midorima, backing up Murasakibara on defense just to watch Aomine's face contort in annoyance. The Heat are _huge_, but most of the Miracles aren't exactly small men, and Kise doubts the NBA have much experience playing specialists like them.

There's a short tense moment where Midorima and Kagami both obviously want to end the match with a buzzer beater, but it doesn't matter when the shot goes in, and they've both gotten to show off their signature moves a few times. By the time the buzzer sounds, everyone hits the floor panting, sweating enough to make the court slick, with only a few of them understanding what the hell the Heat are saying.

Kise elbows Aomine in the ribs. "What are they talking about?" he asks unrepentantly, as Murasakibara does the same to Kagami-no, never mind, he's just asking where the vending machines are.

Aomine groans, sharply elbowing Kise back. "They all want your dicks. Not literally, don't get too fucking excited-they're just wondering how they missed so many good Asian players and ugh, I'm mad at you, I'm not talking to you."

"I'm done dying now, Kagami-kun," Kuroko announces, flopping down next to the other man on the court and handing him a towel and a bottle of water. He still sways a little, and is rather starkly pale. "Are you happy? You beat Aomine-kun again."

Kagami lets the towel flop over his head, and takes a long swig from the water bottle. "We did, yeah," he says, ruffling sweat-damp hair with a grin. He offers a handshake to Aomine. "Thank you very much," he half-says, half-shouts in a tradition he knows isn't observed here. "It's still not over, you know."

Aomine grunts, raking a hand back through sweaty hair as he offers Kagami the other, grabbing his hand in a tight handshake. "Yeah, whatever. Come back any time, and when I'm at one hundred percent, I'll kick your ass for real."

"Aomine-kun is still something of a sore loser," Kuroko observes as he flops onto the back, clearly not of the mind to move any time soon.

Aomine scowls, though he's interrupted by a teammate of his own saying something in English. "Heh. Hear that? Looks like there's someone from the Lakers hanging around," he tosses to Kagami. "Maybe they're scouting. You gonna come and play in the NBA and get your ass kicked regularly?"

"Aomine-kun," Kagami mutters in Kuroko's ear, "is probably a sore everything right about now." He straightens up, a fierce grin on his face, and looks around at the sparse crowd that's gathered from the sounds of a heated competition. "Lakers, huh? Didn't you say we'd get tickets to see them tonight? I want to see if they'd be as much fun to mess around with as you guys." Not that he's thinking about it. Not that he's wondering what he'd do, if given an offer like that.

Not that he remembers now why it had always felt like basketball is in his soul.

"I told you, they suck this season," Aomine dismisses with a snort. "If it ain't a scout, it's one of the team members being curious. Oi, Murasakibara, don't run off just yet! Go find the Lakers guy, maybe it's your old babysitter!"

"Don't send him running off like a dog, he will be impossible to find later," Akashi snaps, to which Aomine settles for rolling his eyes and untying his already mussed ponytail with a yank.

"I called Muro-chin this morning," Murasakibara says, yawning. "I found his number online, it's not that hard. He's picking me up tonight for dinner, there's an all-you-can-eat place and I want to see if they mean it for real."

"Uh… yeah, they totally mean it for real, man," Aomine says, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You go right on with that."

"I am not going, so be _sure_ to behave yourself-"

"Dude. Akashi. He's got his babysitter, that guy used to put up with his shit better than you," Aomine mutters, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Oi, Ryou, I'll talk to you again if you bring me some water."

Kise trots up a moment later, half a dozen water bottles in his arms, and dumps one over Aomine's head. "To cool you off," he offers cheerfully. Then he leans up, not so close as to cause comment among the Heat, but maybe close enough to cause mutterings about weird Asians, "We'll have to see if you can take me in one-on-one later."

"I don't need a babysitter," Murasakibara mutters, eyes narrowing through the sweat as he looks at Akashi. "Aka-chin, don't talk to me like I'm a dog."

"I'll fucking run you into the ground," Aomine mutters, smirking as he says it, and takes pleasure in shaking out his hair right into Kise's face.

"I'm not talking to you like a dog. Also, I'm done." Akashi exhales a slow, exasperated sound before turning on his heel, _calmly_ snatching a bottle of water out of Kise's grasp, and making a very dismissive exit.

"Very bad mood," Kuroko observes, his head tilting. "Mmm. Kagami-kun, can we go do the lying down thing now? I still sort of want to die."

A quick move by Midorima shoves a piece of candy into Murasakibara's throat, narrowly avoiding the rage pouring off him in waves. He settles down slowly, though he still seethes with a slow kind of candy-coated rage as he watches Akashi leave. "Rude," he says around the candy. "No excuse."

Kagami wraps an arm around Kuroko, lending enough of his strength that Kuroko doesn't just fall over. "Yeah. Come on, let's head back to the hotel room, we could both use a few more hours of sleep."

"Good sleeps," Kuroko dimly agrees, already sagging a little.

"Ah! The rest of you definitely have to come to dinner, though, our treat!" Takao pipes up, bouncing up onto his heels. "So don't sleep _too_ long, okay? Murasakibara-kun, you can come, too, especially if they lie about it being all-you-can-eat. Americans are tricky like that."

"Mean," Murasakibara growls, looking as if he'd probably skin and eat whoever promised him all he can eat and then took it away.

"We'll sleep as long as Kuroko needs," Kagami says firmly. "If we miss dinner, we'll just get room service, I can always order it."

"No. We'll wait until you wake up." Midorima is fairly certain that Takao wants to make an announcement tonight, if he's reading him right (and by now, he really should).

Kagami shoots him an irritable glare. "Whatever, I'll call you when he wakes up."

"That's fine! We just reeeeally want you to be there, okay?" Takao wheedles, and Kuroko manages a slow nod as he sways on his feet.

"Kagami-kun, if I fall asleep in the taxi, please don't leave me to die in America."

Kagami lifts Kuroko up onto his hip, the way Kuroko carries his kindergarteners. "Yeah, we're done. Later, guys." If he were less of a good boyfriend, he thinks tiredly, he'd probably care more about the fact that someone from the Lakers has been watching him, and is _right there_, probably waiting to talk to him, and that he could not only impress with his basketball, but with his conversational English, too. With a sigh, he opens the doors, trying not to look back as he carries Kuroko out to the taxi.

Kuroko flops his arms about Kagami's neck, eyes lidding. "I can wait out here," he murmurs, "if you wanted to go and talk to them. Kagami-kun played a very good game today, everyone knows it."

Kagami kisses his forehead, tightening his grip. "They won't want to talk to me after seeing us cuddling," he says with a shrug, and carries Kuroko out to the taxi. "So I don't want to talk to them. They'd just want me to move to America anyway."

"… I don't think as many people in America care about that sort of thing," Kuroko quietly points out. "Aomine-kun and Kise-kun are all over one another in public, and no one says anything. And… if it's something you really want to do… well, it's sort of impossible to not see how much happier you are when you're playing basketball, after all…"

"Unless you're breaking up with me," Kagami says, getting Kuroko into the taxi and following him into the backseat, "don't tell me to take a job where there's nothing for you. We're partners, right? Always." He switches to English to give the driver the address of their hotel, then mutters in Japanese, "This guy is going the slow way on purpose, down Sunset is twice as fast. What an asshole."

Kuroko flops back, silent for a moment before he turns his head to look up at Kagami. "If my parents find out about us, they'll make sure I marry someone or disown me," he says around the hard lump suddenly in his throat. "I've known that for awhile. There would be a lot more for me here, because at least _you'd_ be here. Ah-I didn't mean to make that so depressing," he quickly adds. "But. Mm. The point is-it might be better to come here and stay before they find out, too… especially if you get to do something you really enjoy. Also, Midorima-kun will be around more often nowadays and that doesn't bode well."

"I," Kagami says softly, wrapping an arm around Kuroko's shoulders and pulling him close, "will be wherever you are. So there'll always be something for you. I'm not going to make you move to America when you don't speak English and you don't even like Americans."

He swallows hard, then kisses Kuroko's forehead. "You don't know what your parents will do until they do it. They might surprise you." He gives a mirthless laugh. "Mine sure did."

"I like Americans well enough. I like Kagami-kun, don't I?" Kuroko blinks slowly up at him, tilting his head forward to nudge his nose against the other man's. "I'm pretty sure I know what they will do," he says on a sigh. "But… that isn't even the thing that really bothers me, at the end of the day. I don't want you to miss out on a chance like this because of me."

"But what about your chances?" Kagami asks, frowning. "You love your job. And you don't speak English well enough to get the same kind of job here, so it doesn't matter. I'm fine in my job. If I wanted to play basketball that bad, I'd go into the stupid JBL, they beg me enough." He smiles, and it's a little bitter. "It's just a dumb childhood dream, that's all. I'm happy enough. That's Japanese of me, right?"

"… I don't think I like it when Kagami-kun acts Japanese."

Kagami's smile fades from his face. There had been an exhilaration, a delight in that last game that he misses about as much as he's pretty sure he'd miss breathing if he were underwater, or sunlight if he lived in a cave. "It's fine," he says again, and tries to make it sound more convincing. "Look, this is all about nothing. I haven't even talked to the guy, I _definitely_ haven't gotten any kind of an offer. And I won't, because I'm not looking for one. I have a job."

"Tell our driver to turn around, then, and talk to the guy that was there," Kuroko firmly says. "_Then_ you can say it's nothing."

Kagami looks at Kuroko, visibly torn. Then he sighs, mutters, "He's probably long gone by now," and relays Kuroko's instructions. "You want to stay in the cab while I go in? I'll give you American money to give him."

"If he's there, then he's there and you talk to him lots. If he isn't, then it wasn't meant to be," Kuroko simply replies, and promptly headbutts his face against Kagami's shoulder. "I'll stay out here. I don't want to jinx anything. Also, I'm a little woogly."

Kagami brushes a kiss to his temple, then hands the driver a couple twenties. "I'm going in for a minute, keep it running. Just let him fall asleep, he doesn't speak any English. He's a little…" He pauses, trying to think of the English word. "Melty."

Then he dashes into the gymnasium, trying to look cool, and tries to think of something he could have forgotten. "Oi," he calls in English, catching sight of Aomine, "did you see my room key anywhere? I think it fell out of my shorts."

"Huh? No, man, sorry," Aomine says, automatically switching to English himself. "Be glad you came back, though-that guy from the Lakers might still be hanging around. He tried talking Midorima already, which went about as well as you'd think."

"A lot of glaring and nanodayo?" Kagami guesses, looking around for the guy. "What's he look like? I'd probably take off after talking to Midorima…" _Let's hope he's less easily annoyed than I am._

"Short-okay, relatively. Like Tetsu's height, dark hair, forties. Only guy with a Lakers jacket I've seen around this early, the bulk of the team isn't gonna roll in until later. Go have a long talk with him, maybe you'll do 'em some good," Aomine gruffly adds, shrugging. "They could use it."

Kagami claps Aomine on the arm, giving him a brief grin. "You're just sick of having no competition on this side of the Pacific," he teases, and trots off, looking around until he spots that gold and purple he knows so well.

Fuck, now is _not_ the time to be shy. It's really not, because the guy looks like he's _leaving_, and Kagami's breath catches in his throat. "Excuse me!" he calls, annoyed by how his voice kind of splits. "Hey, excuse me!"

The man turns, and recognition immediately flickers across his face. "Oh, perfect! I thought I'd missed you, I saw you leaving. Rick Stevenson for the Lakers, how you doing?" He holds out his hand for it to be taken. "Daiki tells me you're an old friend of his-must be a hell of a good friend if he drops your name."

Kagami blinks a bit at that-well, after last night he can probably call Aomine a friend at least. "We used to play a lot in high school," he says, trying to get his English pronunciation as good as it used to be, probably failing. He shakes the man's hand, pumping it firmly without being too aggressive. "I have to say, I've been a Lakers fan since I was nine years old."

"You have, eh? You know, I've gotta say, I'm glad to hear your English is so good-spend some time in the States before?" he asks. "You play like someone who has seen a lot of good games. We want people like that. Bonus points, really, because you can go toe to toe with Daiki. Pain in the ass, that one."

"He's always been a pain," Kagami agrees, trying to tell his heart to stay the fuck in his chest and stop dancing around like it goddamn wants something. "I grew up here in L.A., I've probably seen more Lakers games than you have," he says, wiping the sweat from the back of his neck. "What do you do for the Lakers?" _I could buy us a big house. We could actually get married. I could teach him English, he wouldn't lose his job if someone found out about us, neither would I, we could be _happy_ here-_

"Searching for new talent as always! Heard the Heat was doing some casual thing against some of Daiki's old buddies, so here I am. And I'm glad about that, too," Rick says, promptly fishing out a business card to press it into Kagami's hand. "How long are you going to be in L.A…. what was it, remind me of your name?"

Kagami tries to remind himself that he doesn't have to bow over the card or treat it like it's made of gold. He takes it, and says, "Taiga Kagami. I'll be here for another six days, that's as long as I've got leave from work. You…you always work with the Lakers? I grew up with Tatsuya Himuro." _Not that he'll have anything good to say about me now._

"Ahh, Tatsuya! Yeah, good kid, though I'm glad you're taller than he is," Rick laughs. "If you're going to be here, then make sure to give me a call tomorrow, whenever you're free. God willing, we'll get you to stay here for a hell of a lot longer than six more days."

Kagami swallows. Then he nods, unable to stop from grinning. "I'll call you. I just have to talk some to-" His voice seizes up for a second, but _fuck it_, if this is going to be a thing, he's _not_ going to hide it, he can hide shit in Japan. "I just have to talk it out with my boyfriend first, then I'll give you a call, around ten." He looks steadily down at Rick. "Does that work for you?"

"The guy you helped out of here, right?" He barely bats an eye. "Now _he's_ got an interesting playing style. Anyway, yeah, talk it out all you want. _I'll_ be busy talking to the coach."

Well.

Kagami's grin gets about twice as big and twenty times brighter. "Yeah, I'll talk to him. He's very unique!" He starts to bow, then shakes Rick's hand again. "Good luck, good game! I'll be here tonight watching."

He's not quite sure his feet touch the ground too much on his way out to the cab, and he slides eagerly inside, slipping the annoyed driver another couple twenties.

Kuroko, having curled himself into a ball (even if he hasn't been sleeping), peers up at Kagami, blinking slowly. "You look happy," he says, scooting closer. "Tell me things."

Kagami wraps an arm around him as the cab finally starts moving towards the hotel. "He, uh, wants me. For the Lakers. I think he's pretty serious, man, I told him you were my boyfriend and he didn't _blink_. Not that I'm saying I want to move here or anything, but….I mean, _wow_. How many guys can say the Lakers' talent scout wants them, you know?"

"… If someone wants you for the Lakers, then I think we're moving here." Kuroko wriggles his way against Kagami's side. "I wouldn't ever want you to say 'no' to something like that. It's a once in a lifetime thing."

Kagami swallows hard around a lump in his throat. "It's not just about me. You _love_ your job. And it's not that easy to get, if you hate it here and go back, it'll be harder for you."

"I can do teaching things in America. Somehow." Kuroko props his chin up on top of Kagami's shoulder. "Eventually. And if you're here, I'm not going to hate it. I'll go to all of your games. If you don't keep beating Aomine-kun, though, I'll be very annoyed. Oh, but I do have one request."

The idea that this could be _real_, that he could actually wear that gold and purple and hear the crowds chanting his name, is suddenly, starkly clear in Kagami's mind. "Name it. Anything in the world."

"I think," Kuroko says, very seriously, "it's time for us to be grandparents."

"I-"

Kagami stares at Kuroko for a minute, then collapses into what can only be called giggles, head thunking against Kuroko's. "Yeah. Okay. Time for Nigou to be a daddy."

"Good." Kuroko thunks his head back against Kagami's. "I'm holding you to that. So join the Lakers and make your son and grandchildren proud."

Kagami turns his head, kissing Kuroko silly before pulling his head down against Kagami's chest. "I only want to make you proud."

"… Taiga-kun is kind of dumb sometimes." Saying Kagami's actual given name is _still_ an odd, awkward thing after so long, but it isn't as if their taxi driver is going to understand it, and it seems like a good thing to do right then, anyway. Kuroko stuffs his face into Kagami's chest. "I've been proud for a really long time."

"Stop that," Kagami mutters around a lump in his throat, squeezing so tight he has to make sure not to break anything. "You're gonna make me do something embarrassing if you do that."

"You're already kind of embarrassing. My ribs are doing weird things."

Kagami loosens his grip marginally. "You're gonna make me do something really dumb," he warns again. "We're gonna buy a house and get you into great English programs and stuff. And I'm gonna ask you embarrassing questions and you're gonna say yes because you don't want Nigou to be a bastard."

"… I'm never calling you 'Taiga-kun' again, Taiga-kun," Kuroko 'threatens' as he lifts his head up to stare at Kagami. "No threats about Nigou, that's just cruel and _un-American._"

"Just warning you. You're the one who's going to have to take responsibility." Kagami kisses him, eyes bright and god, he can't get the giddy smile off his face.


	8. Chapter 8

The restaurant Kise's chosen is roomy, accommodating, which is probably for the best if Takao starts throwing food onto Midorima's head again. It's nice enough that Akashi probably won't complain, and private enough that he manages to get an entire private dining room for them-of course, namedropping doesn't hurt, when he's a movie star and an NBA player from the league's best team is coming to dinner.

He doesn't bother trying to arrange them, besides getting himself onto Aomine's right side, and watches as Midorima and Takao sit down opposite, Kagami and a slightly-less-sleepy Kuroko take one side, and Akashi sits alone at the other like it's his throne. Before he can speak, the door opens and Murasakibara lumbers in with Himuro in tow. "They shouldn't call it all you can eat if they're just going to run out of food. I could've eaten more."

"Ah, Himuro-kun," Kuroko greets, blinking sleepily. "You look well."

The look Himuro tosses him is just shy of sour, and the motion of sitting down _all_ reeks of _I don't want to be here. _"As do you."

"Surprised your coach let you out, with the game tonight and everything," Aomine snidely greets, an arm casually slung about Kise's shoulders. "Have the Lakers just given up? Oh, wait, never mind, you just don't have to worry about it. Second reserve now, right? Make sure to keep that bench warm for Kagami."

And _now_, Himuro's glare is positively icy.

Kagami grabs a piece of bread from the table and chucks it at Aomine's face. "Quit talking shit about the Lakers, they've had a rough couple of seasons." He looks at Kuroko, wondering, _Now_? But no, best to wait until he's not on edge from Himuro being here, looking exactly the same, and the cold chain aches around his neck.

"Sit down," Murasakibara says, tugging Himuro down into his seat, squishing himself between Himuro and Akashi. "Muro-chin's gonna eat with us," he announces to no one in particular. "What's the food here, anyway?"

"Sushi!" Kise says, thrilled with his own brilliance. "I thought that might be a nice taste of home, eh?"

"I doubt it's any good," Midorima sniffs.

"Shin-chan, don't judge it until we've had it," Takao chides.

"I'll stop talking shit about the Lakers when they can fucking play," Aomine laughs, contently chewing on the bread that he caught. "Hey, did you catch up with that scout earlier?"

Kuroko levels a look at Kagami-_just go ahead and tell them, of course you're allowed to be excited_-as Akashi flags down a waiter. "This is my bottle of wine and don't expect me to share," is his immediate warning to the rest of the table.

Kagami takes a deep breath. "That's….yeah, guys, I have an announcement. Well, _we_ have an announcement." Ignoring the strangely dirty look Midorima gives him, he says, "The Lakers want me. So if they offer me a position….yeah, Kuroko and I are moving here."

Murasakibara turns away from staring at Akashi to look at Himuro. "Muro-chin gets to play with your old friend again," he says, poking Himuro in the cheek. "Yeah, good."

Himuro twitches a bit, his smile less than genuine. "Fantastic. So he just picked you up and out of the blue, Taiga? Isn't that typical."

"Kagami-kun, when we move to America, please don't let the rudeness of this country permeate you like that," Kuroko mildly puts in, taking a slow sip from his water.

Murasakibara frowns. "Muro-chin," he says firmly, letting a huge hand rest on Himuro's head, "you can't be mean and tiny, I don't like it. You can be only one so you have to get taller or be nicer."

Midorima suddenly has a very hard time suffocating a laugh behind his hand.

Himuro lets out a sound that suspiciously resembles a growl. Akashi promptly downs back a glass of wine.

"Ahh, that's really great, Kagami-kun!" Takao _cheerfully_ congratulates, though his smile twitches just a bit. "Wish you had waited like… five minutes, but whatever! That's still really awesome."

"Mm. Congratulations," Midorima says somewhat stiffly.

Kagami frowns. "Why waited five minutes? Were you guys gonna give us the apartment or something?"

"Don't be absurd."

"Aka-chin, gimme a sip."

"You won't like it, Atsushi. It is hardly the quality they claim it to be." The glass is passed over anyway.

"Oh, no, you definitely don't get the apartment, we like it too much. We just had another important announcement and you kinda stole the spotlight," Takao says, pouting.

"Ah. We have one more we can get out of the way," Kuroko says. "We're going to be grandparents."

"… Tetsu, you just get weirder," Aomine observes. "All the fucking time."

"You didn't need to tell them _that_," Kagami growls, flicking Kuroko in the side of the head. "Takao, what do you have?"

"I think we should wait until people stop being titillated by the news of your ex-patriacy," Midorima decides.

"Aka-chin, this wine is bad."

"It's going to get me very drunk," Akashi agrees, taking the glass back.

"Why shouldn't I tell them about our grandchildren? They might want one, too," Kuroko protests, looking up at Kagami. "Unless you want to keep all of them. We can do that."

"Shin-chan, tonight, they're _your_ friends, not mine," Takao grumbles.

"Why should they be _my_ friends?" Midorima asks, affronted. "They're _never_ my friends."

Visions of a house full of giant dogs barking and biting makes Kagami go pale. "Can you knock it off and just be normal for a minute?" he growls, shoving Kuroko. "I was making a serious announcement, quit talking about the damn dog."

"Aka-chin, I think Muro-chin needs some wine."

"Don't talk about your son like that, Kagami-kun."

"I'm not sharing my wine," Akashi flatly returns, and hauls the bottle closer to himself.

"You're all awful, see if I pay for dinner tonight," Takao sulkily interrupts.

"Everyone shut up!" Kise yells, slamming a hand down on the table for effect, and ooh, that's nice, the way they all go silent. "Now," he says, and wow, he's always wanted to yell at a room full of people and have them go quiet, "I heard Takao has an announcement?"

"You're not allowed to be mean and tiny either," Murasakibara mutters, eyes staring to narrow. "No one is."

Akashi ignores him for once, and takes a very large sip.

"Thank you, Kise-kun," Takao huffs, heaving a sigh as he unwinds from his sulky little curl. "Right! So all of you-" Yes, even Akashi, he's been informed that Akashi _has_ to come. "-are invited to something really special: Shin-chan and I's wedding!"

Oooh. Kuroko understands the irritation now. "Ah-congratulations, you two. See, Kagami-kun, it's very good we're moving out, we wouldn't want to disturb their married life."

"They're the ones who always disturb us!" Kagami argues, folding his arms. "But yeah, congratulations. When's the happy day?" _Dammit, now I'm not going to be original when I do that either. Oh, well._

"I don't know," Midorima says, a little annoyed at the question. "The day after tomorrow, I suppose. Kagami, you will be my best man for the sake of your English skills."

"Gee. Thanks."

Murasakibara tilts his head. "Ah. That's kinda cute. Who's the bride?"

"I look better in a dress by _far_," Takao says with a completely straight face. "Hey, Kuroko-kun, you're my pick for best man-don't worry, I don't need you to speak English."

"God, he must have the patience of a saint," Aomine groans underneath his breath to Kise. "Or is it about the paycheck, you think?"

"Nah, he's money too," Kise murmurs. "My personal theory is that Takao is actually much stranger than all of us and he hides it better. Also apparently Midorimacchi is a giant perverted slut when they're alone, I've seen pictures."

"… Things I didn't wanna know, Ryou. Gross."

"Anyway, definitely no excuses, you _all_ have to come and once we have the booking finalized on the place, I'll let you know! That means no running off even if you have an appointment with the Lakers, Kagami-kun," Takao sternly chides.

"Kagami-kun is going to talk to him tomorrow, so it shouldn't conflict," Kuroko reassures him. "Midorima-kun, are you going to carry him bridal style? That's very romantic, I didn't know that was a facet of your personality."

Midorima sighs, pushing his glasses up on his nose, and asks Takao, "Are you sure we can't un-invite all of them?"

Murasakibara reaches behind Akashi with one long arm, plucking the wine bottle from his hand. "It's good to share, Aka-chin," he says, then more firmly, "and to say congratulations."

Akashi's grab for the wine bottle misses entirely. "Why would I want to _congratulate_ him?" His voice is already slurring together. "After all I've done for you, Shintarou-you pick that… that clumsy _idiot_ as your best man?! And never _mind_ who you're marrying, you didn't even think to run that by me first?"

"Um," Takao attempts.

Akashi sort of flops backward into his chair. "I didn't mean that," he suddenly says, though his voice sounds even more _out of it_ than before. "Just-none of you know what it's _like_. Even Atsushi-you have your painfully short shooting guard _friend_ to spend time with-"

"… We can uninvite him," Takao mutters underneath his breath to Midorima.

"And _Ryouta_, too-you've gotten over yourself, that's good, that's very good. I don't _mean it_ when I tell you you're a slut, I'm just uncomfortable with your blatant displays of sexuality-"

"So this is what happens when Akashi-kun is very drunk," Kuroko observes, somewhat awed.

Midorima stands from the table, walking past a confused and affronted Kise, to tug at Akashi's arm. "Come on," he says opening the door. "We're going to talk."

Murasakibara leans over to Himuro's ear and confides, "Mom's mad."

Himuro stares after the pair of them, eyebrows raised. "Seems like _Mom_ has every right to be."

"Can we all make a pact to never let him drink again?" Aomine bluntly tosses out over the table before turning to Kise. "Don't make that face, you know he's just an asshat."

"Right! Food, let's get some food-it's my treat, so don't hold back!" Ah, it's hard being cheerful when one's fiancé is dragging out a very drunk and kind of half-sobbing weirdo that he has weird _history_ with.

"Nothing to talk about." Oh, and now Akashi sounds like a petulant husband on his way out the door. Takao contemplates getting drunk himself.

Midorima hauls him more than he'd usually feel comfortable with, tugging him out to an alcove. His eyes narrow behind his glasses, and he asks quietly, "Who is it?"

Akashi sways before attempting to _gracefully_ arrange himself to lean against a wall. "I," he announces, trying for irritable, settling for sulky, "don't know what you are referring to, Shintarou."

Midorima folds his arms, blocking them off from view of passing waiters. "I am _referring_ to the fact that you've been completely unlike yourself this entire trip, and only when you see a _couple_. Who is it you're missing back in Japan?" He frowns. "Someone you're not supposed to be with. Your family, or hers?"

The question is met with a glower. "Your assumptions annoy me as much as it annoys me that you are taller than me. Shrink. You and Tetsuya-no, especially Tetsuya."

"Akashi," Midorima says quietly, "you are making a fool of yourself. No one else is going to mind that, but you are going to lose the respect of every person in that room if you don't pull yourself together."

_That_ seems to hit a nerve even through all of the alcohol. "… We aren't discussing this. You hardly seem interested in keeping me informed about _your_ romantic liaisons."

"That's because every time I've tried to tell you something in my life you've scolded me for telling you something you already know!"

"Well," is the decidedly sulky response to follow, "I didn't know about this part."

"Because you're distracted." Midorima's head starts to hurt. "This isn't like you. None of it is. Even _Kise's_ noticed."

Akashi strangles back a thoroughly annoyed sound. "That does pose a problem," he crossly agrees, "because Ryouta has the cognizance of a bag of rocks."

"So don't insult my intelligence." Midorima scowls, rubbing at his temples. "Don't tell me I haven't noticed what's obvious. Who are you missing so desperately?"

"I am hardly _desperate_." He needs more alcohol. Maybe he's desperate for _that_. Akashi irritably folds his arms. "You are not, in any way, shape, or form, allowed to convey this to your… _fiancé_. I know how you two talk."

Midorima refrains from commenting on that. "I've kept your secrets before. Don't insult me further."

"Watch your mouth, Shintarou." Akashi crossly glances to the side. "You probably don't remember them. It's Mibuchi." He clears his throat. "Mibuchi Reo."

Midorima's brow furrows, and he tilts his head. "Wasn't he on Rakuzan with you? God, it's some sort of epidemic with us, isn't it? Perhaps there's some correlation with basketball ability."

"Shooting guard," is the muttered allowance. "Don't be ridiculous, there's no _epidemic_. Atsushi is…" All right, perhaps that wasn't the best example.

Midorima nods slowly, thinking. "Is it your family, or his? Or simply the…" He leaves that open. Akashi will understand.

"Don't be ridiculous." He sounds like a broken record. "None of them know. Nor will they, ever. My family has long-arranged a suitable wife. According to all traditions, we're to be wed within the month."

Ah. That makes a bit more sense. Midorima nods slowly, taking a small step back. "I understand." He darts a look back at the still-closed door of the dining room, and admits, "Takao thinks I broke mine off. I've just been postponing it for three years."

Akashi inclines his head. "Your career is not tied to your family," he observes. "How much of your accelerated pace through school was for his injury, and how much of it was because of that fact?"

Midorima swallows. Akashi has always seen far more than he'd been comfortable with. "I'm finished now. I have a salary starting soon, I can break it off in truth so I won't need to rely on their money anymore. Does it matter why I did it?"

"Not to _me_." Akashi sighs, tilting his head back to lightly bang it against the wall. "All of that, and you still decide to marry him in America. You _do_ have some gall."

"Not really," Midorima says, a bit of bitterness in his tone. "It isn't as if I'll be phoning my family and letting them know. And it isn't binding back home. Hardly bravery."

"You could tell _him_ you still have a fiancé," Akashi suggests, eyebrows raised. "In this context, he might get a kick out of it. He seems the type."

"Now, _that_ would be bravery." Midorima takes off his glasses, pulling out a cloth and wiping them gently. "Is he at least content with what you have? Or does he even know how you feel?"

"I have been excessively annoyed about having to wake up at ungodly hours in order to call him when he gets off from work. I do believe that constitutes as 'knowing how I feel', if I am not mistaken. And I am never wrong, so." Akashi frowns. "I feel as though we should both be drunker for this conversation."

"Probably," Midorima agrees wearily. "Let me tell Takao where I've gone and we can go sit at the bar. Do you speak enough English to order whiskey?"

"The duration of this trip has, indeed, taught me a great deal about ordering alcohol."

"Wait for me at the bar." Midorima pops back in for long enough to apologize, to swear it's important and that nothing's wrong, and to mollify Takao by actually giving him a kiss in public before joining Akashi, face flaming red. "Good, you ordered two." He knocks back his glass and is pleased to find that the crook of his finger is, in fact, a universal symbol for "one more." "How long, you two?"

"… There was a brief … 'thing', in high school." Akashi, still pleasantly fuzzy from the wine, nurses his own drink much more slowly. "But it was just two years ago that we met up again. I have been quite busy with my family's work, after all."

Midorima nods, already signaling for his third. "Of course." He tilts his head slightly, looking at Akashi's profile. "Did you resist it, at first? I hear many men do. We can talk openly here, no one can understand us, you know."

"Refrain from telling me what I already know, Shintarou." Akashi takes it back. He isn't drunk enough. He downs his drink in record time and quickly gets another. "I find Reo's presence to be somewhat therapeutic," he eventually, begrudgingly says. "There wasn't much to resist with that in mind."

Midorima doesn't mention Teiko, where he'd been the one dubiously "chosen" to play shogi with Akashi every day because Akashi had found his presence soothing. He rolls his glass between his hands, looking down at the small pool of liquid. "Will you keep seeing him after your marriage?"

Akashi levels a stare upon him. "Would you stop seeing Kazunari if you actually went through with _your_ marriage?"

Midorima nods in acknowledgement, ordering another and downing it immediately. "At least you travel for work. It shouldn't be too difficult to make time."

"No, but the girl is terribly clingy and it would be much more convenient to toss her off a cliff with rocks tied to her ankles." Akashi downs back his drink. "Worst still, she is as _vapid_ as any lovechild between Ryouta and Daiki would be."

"A truly terrifying thought." Midorima's brow furrows. "Find her a man. Or buy her a nice house in the country somewhere. I doubt anyone expects children, they rarely do these days."

"Oh, but my family does. The importance of carrying on the family name is paramount, _apparently_. If I need an accomplice in a crime that involves cliffs, I _will_ be calling you, just be aware."

"Mm, that goes without saying." Midorima can't help but think, now of all times, of sweet lovely Owada Masumi, and the ring he's supposed to put on her finger in less than a year. "I wish mine could be awful. She seems very nice. And I've been as uninteresting as possible, she hasn't budged. On our last date all I did was recite the bones in the hand, then left before appetizers. She still thanked me for a lovely evening."

"The girl has been inbred in order to become _docile_, no doubt. I hate docility when there isn't a _brain_ behind it," Akashi mutters, shuddering at the reminder of Nakamura Minako and how even her _voice_ sets his nerves on edge. "Once, I sat and played an entire shogi game by myself for one of our dates. She didn't seem to mind."

Midorima snorts, tossing back another drink. "Once I was so adamant I couldn't leave the hospital that she came and watched me drink cafeteria coffee for an hour while I did homework. She wore a full kimono the whole time."

"One thing I've never understood: you work a hospital, and yet you haven't simply tranquilized her until she won't wake up yet."

"If she were as obnoxious as yours apparently is," Midorima says dryly, "I probably would have. Or if I'd been entirely lucid the last two years, I'm certain you've heard stories."

"Many," Akashi deadpans. "And you were certainly interesting last night. Maybe I should enlist you to just kill me and get it done with. She calls me _Seijuurou-san_. As often as possible, with absolutely no brain activity in her gaze."

Midorima grimaces. "That's better than _Midorima-sama_, don't you think? The _entire_ time? I think she lives her entire life in a tea ceremony."

"I would prefer -sama. It's far more befitting, and is at least entertaining."

"You're welcome to her. But don't give me yours, she'll be dead in a day."

"I don't want her. I don't want either of them." Akashi drowns himself in another drink. "Reo finds her _charming_. God, I don't know how he tolerates women in general."

Midorima's stare tracks slowly up to Akashi's face. "I don't...hmm. I don't remember anything about him, what's he, what's he got to him?"

"Tall… not as tall as you," Akashi offers comparatively, propping his chin up in one hand. "Long eyelashes. Long, dark hair. I'm annoyed that you don't remember him, he used to enjoy making _your_ pet get foul after foul in all the games we played against one another. Of course, Reo doesn't play anymore-he works in finance now."

Midorima frowns, trying to remember. "That's right. I think if Takao had been less furious at you, he'd have hated that man quite a lot."

"Clearly, double dates are out of the question, then," Akashi dryly retorts.

Midorima shrugs. "I have no idea, he has criteria I don't understand. I wasn't entirely sure we were friends with Kuroko and Kagami, and they've lived in our apartment for two years now."

Akashi stares, and gets them both another drink. "I never quite understood that myself. I was of the mind that you and Tetsuya didn't get along. Also, when did he get taller than me? That is very annoying."

"Mm, a few years past. He blames it on Kagami's cooking, but I haven't grown an inch since they moved in." He sniffs, feeling the curious way his teeth have gone numb. "At least they're moving out now that I'll actually be home more than one night in a hundred."

"Maybe I will cut his legs off. Problem solved."

"That would keep my advisors too busy reconstructing his legs to pass me. Please refrain."

"After you are properly employed, then." Another drink half-way inhaled, and Akashi begrudgingly says, "Congratulations on your marriage. The one you actually want, of course."

Midorima leans in to speak confidentially, and winds up slumping. Just a bit. "The only reason I picked Kagami over you as my best man," he explains, feeling suddenly guilty, "is because I need his English skills to help me buy a ring."

"If you can even call his skills 'skills'," Akashi mutters, rolling his eyes. "Please recall I have many international clients, Shintarou. Though probably, you will have better results with him in ring-buying. I don't particularly care for your husband-to-be, but to each his own."

"I don't want his _opinions_," Midorima says, incredulous at the idea. "I want his English, that's it. I already know what I want." His face darkens slightly. "And for the record I don't like your _pet's_ style of basketball."

"Well, it is very convenient that he no longer bothers with the sport, then," Akashi drawls. "I have to admit, I never did understand your preferences. Didn't you used to say you liked someone older than you? And yet…"

"Obfuscation," Midorima admits. "Terribly clever, he's the youngest one on the team. That, doubtless, is why you and everyone else never suspected."

"Don't be foolish, I knew very well what the two of you were doing in your spare time. He might have flirted with everyone, but he pulled _you_ around in a rickshaw."

"I doubt you knew _all_ of what we were doing." Ah, Midorima feels pleasantly warm. And has for a while, really. His feet kick slowly back and forth on his stool. "There's a _lot_."

"… Pray tell." Akashi laces his fingers together loosely, his chin resting upon them. "You should inform me of any lost details, Shintarou."

Midorima laughs, shaking his head slowly and sort of enjoying the way the world swims. "You have to tell me what you _know_ first. Otherwise you'll yell at me for saying things you already know."

"What if I give you a pass, tonight only, because you're getting married?" Akashi retorts, his eyebrows arching high. "But I will give you at least one bone-I know how much you like him in women's clothing. A pity it doesn't suit you quite as well."

Ah, Midorima needs one more drink for that, no matter how everything is already quite….special. He leans in, the whiskey burning down his throat, and confides, "He seemed to think it did on his birthday last year. He thought it suited me _quite_ well."

"… Certain things would," Akashi allows, his eyes lidding. "I can think of a few things that would flatter you-stockings," he suddenly says, taking a slow sip of his own drink. "Yes. Definitely."

Ah, he shouldn't. He _really_ shouldn't. But Takao had admitted to showing Kise _his_ phone, so really, it's no different….

Midorima pulls out his phone, tapping sloppily though the photos until he reaches that night. "Judge for yourself."

Akashi leans over to look-and then plucks the phone from Midorima's hand in short order, far more deft at grabbing and flipping through photos than he should be, what with how fuzzy his head is. "Good," he murmurs, his gaze briefly flickering back to Midorima. "Very good. You obviously enjoy it when someone else is in control of you, Shintarou."

Ah. No. Bad. Midorima shifts on his barstool, which does precisely nothing to make his cock listen to him. "Him," he says quietly, face flushed from more than just the alcohol, and he rakes a hand back through his hair. "Yeah."

"Just with him?" Akashi lowly asks, pausing when he lands on a _particularly_ lewd shot of Midorima, flushed and mussed and _messy_ after the fact. "Or have you never had a chance with someone that _really_ knows what they are doing?"

Midorima swallows hard. "I-"

"Aka-chin, it's time to go."

Two huge hands close around Akashi's waist, lifting him off the stool and setting him on the ground as Murasakibara glares at both of them. "Aka-chin, not very many people like you and Mido-chin does, so you're coming home with me and not sleeping with him."

"_Atsushi_-" It comes out as a very undignified growl, and Akashi turns to glare up-_up_ at Murasakibara. "I couldn't care _less_ how many people like me. I don't need people to like me, I need people to follow _orders_. Shintarou and I were having a perfectly pleasant conversation-"

"You were definitely about to fuck," Himuro drawls from the doorway, looking less bored this time, at least, though still more than ready to get the hell out. "Have some class."

Midorima shoots him a withering glare. "Given what you tried to pull on Kagami back then, I'm surprised you have the _gall_ to pretend those words mean anything in your mouth."

"Aka-chin is coming home with me," Murasakibara says firmly. "Or I'll carry you."

"Says the man getting married the day after tomorrow," Himuro deadpans. "Is this your version of a bachelor's party?"

"… There's no need for you to carry me, Atsushi," Akashi stiffly replies, and he hands Midorima's phone back over with an irritated twitch. "It was good to spend time with you this evening, Shintarou."

Midorima stuffs his phone hastily back into his pocket. "Yeah. I'll see you soon, I'm sure." Then he hurries back to the dining room, and _Takao_, and fastens to him as firmly as his drunk arms will allow.

"Ah-I've acquired a growth!" It apparently was a very good idea to send Murasakibara in the search of where Midorima and Akashi had run off to, judging by how Midorima sort of reeks of booze and _moves_ like he's drunk, to boot. At least he seems mostly okay, and Takao firmly uses that as a method to not be annoyed (nope, that's not happening tonight, he's not going to get pissy about Akashi and how Shin-chan always deals with him even on nights after they've announced their _wedding_). "You should eat," Takao advises, dangling a piece of sushi in front of Midorima's face. "I ordered your favorites, it's actually pretty good."

"I want Takao to feed me sushi." Midorima nuzzles, butting his head firmly against Takao's shoulder before taking a proper seat, and even then he closes his eyes and opens his mouth. He had _not_ been about to do anything with Akashi-getting hard from his words isn't the same thing as sleeping with him, they hadn't even _touched_, but he still feels a bit like tying himself up at Takao's feet for a while in punishment.

"Yeah, yeah, because you're being cute." Is _this_ what a really drunk Shin-chan is like? It's been so long, it's easy to forget. Whatever, Takao isn't about to complain, and promptly stuffs a piece of sushi into Midorima's mouth as he wriggles his other arm free and slings it around the other man's waist. "See? Pretty good."

Midorima chews, swallows, and laughs helplessly, clinging to Takao's shoulders as his hands flex in the fabric of Takao's shirt. "It's _awful_," he manages, almost falling over. "What's _in_ that? God, give me another one."

"Don't be dumb, it's good! You're just drunk," Takao insists with a laugh, shoving Midorima back into his chair and shoving another piece of sushi at him. "Reeeally drunk-how do you even _get_ this drunk?"

"I have no idea how many whiskey," Midorima confides, swallowing the sushi with an audible gulp. "Yeah, that's bad, there's something weird in it. One more. Sit on my lap."

Kagami raises an eyebrow at Kuroko. "Yeah, we should go."

"Ahh, Shin-chan is being really dumb-" Said even as Takao climbs into Midorima's lap, of course. "Eat it out of my fingers if you want it so badly."

"Yep, we're going," Aomine quips in agreement, grabbing Kise by the arm. "Getting the hell out right now."

"A wise choice," Kuroko agrees with a nod.

The house is _enormous_.

Kuroko scarcely steps inside more than a few feet before he has to stop and stare-particularly, upward. Did _anywhere _in Japan have ceilings that high? Certainly, Midorima and Takao's apartment comes closer than most, but this is above and beyond and he nearly tips over backwards as he peers at it all.

Well. Even if finding a job has been nigh impossible in the weeks prior to their move, at least he will have somewhere nice to sit around and… catch up on his reading…

"… Kagami-kun, this is a _lot_ of space." Kuroko's head tilts to the other side. "What are we going to put in all of it? We really don't have that much stuff…"

Kagami drops the last box, stretching up with a grunt. "We'll buy more stuff to put in it. That's what Americans do." He ruffles Kuroko's hair, then pulls out an envelope. "By the way, I got my first paycheck today. Check it out."

"It echoes in here," Kuroko absently notes before taking the envelope and peeling it open. He blinks slowly. "… That's a lot of zeros." He blinks up at Kagami next. "Is this a regular thing?"

Kagami laughs, leaning down to brush a kiss to one cheekbone. "Every two weeks. Unless I do really good in a game, then I get a bonus from the sponsors. Think we can live on that?"

Kuroko immediately, sort of dazedly nods. "Mm. Definitely. And Kagami-kun will always do really well in games."

"Of course I will! I don't need to be bribed to do well at basketball!"

"That's the point. You don't even have to try." Kuroko glances furtively around-it _feels_ as though there should be people around, what with how much space there is-before stretching up on tiptoe to gently brush his lips to the corner of Kagami's mouth. "Kagami-kun picked a very good house. I'm fairly certain no one in Japan has ceilings this high."

"What do you care how high the ceilings are?" Kagami asks, grinning as he kisses Kuroko back. "It's not like you ever bang your head. By the way, I know I said we'd rent it to see if we like it, but I bought it." He drops a key into Kuroko's hand. "It's ours now."

"Because I can't touch the ceiling even if I'm on your shoulders," Kuroko says as if that makes perfect sense to be fascinated about. More fascinating, though, is that key and the idea that this is _their_ house, and he turns it over in his hand, his head tilting. "… We can have as any dogs as we want."

"That's not what you should be thinking about!" Kagami snarls, though he looks around automatically for Nigou, checking to see that he's managed the little steps okay and is managing to use the newspaper okay for the first couple days. "I already told you I don't want any more dogs."

"But you said we could have grandchildren. Nigou worked very hard back home with his lady friend, we should at least appreciate that once she has her puppies."

"You saw how hard it is to get even one animal through customs," Kagami argues, regretting most of his life choices. "One, okay, _fine_, we can have one, as long as it stays downstairs. The bitch's owner said she could find homes for the rest."

"I'm going to help her oversee the process to make sure they have proper homes, so I'm sure that will happen," Kuroko very seriously says. "It will be nice having a puppy, you know. At least I'll have something to do, keeping it preoccupied and not chewing on our new furniture…"

Kagami grins, tugging Kuroko down to the new couch they'd had delivered just this morning. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asks gently. "I mean, until you figure out a job to get? I know it's got to be driving you nuts."

Kuroko's head tilts. It's really quite a bit easier when he doesn't think about it, but saying that sounds … selfish? Ungrateful? Hm. "I'll be fine. I can catch up on my reading, at least. I can't say I've had the time to do that in forever."

"And you'll take English classes," Kagami reminds him, "so you can pass all the tests and stuff, right? You'll pick it up so fast when you're here, seriously. You'll be teaching again in no time, I promise."

"Mm… there are a lot of requirements to be a teacher here, though. Pointless ones, honestly." Kuroko sighs tiredly. "And I've never been the best at conversational English to begin with. Maybe it's because I never talked very much in class."

Kagami frowns. "Well, whatever you want to do here, you'll figure it out." It sucks, to think that his dream might be so boring and upsetting for the love of his life, but they'll find a way around it, he's _sure_. "There are some really great restaurants in this neighborhood, if you want?"

"Food is good. Ah, but-leaving Nigou alone like this already in a new place…" Kuroko trails off, blinking as the doorbell suddenly rings. The dog, of course, doesn't move from the rug he's flopped himself out onto. "Did the movers forget something?"

Kagami frowns, counting the boxes. "I don't think so. Want me to get it? Or do you want to try practicing your English?"

It would be in poor form not to _try_, Kuroko supposes. He nods, steeling himself, and climbs to his feet to open the door.

"Tetsu-kuuuuun, you're as cute as always!"

_That_ isn't English-nor is it one of their movers, something that becomes very plainly obvious when he has a pair of … ah, yes, those are definitely Momoi's breasts in his face. Kuroko is certain he could recognize them anywhere at this stage of his life. "Momoi-san," he manages when he's thoroughly _squeezed_ by her. "What are you…" _How did you find this address already and why?_

Before Momoi can answer, a tiny face, round and pert and lovely, circled by golden ringlets, hovers into view. A little girl, in a neat sailor suit and hovering about six feet in the air with two big hands around her waist, blinks at him.

From behind her, a man's voice pretending at a falsetto says, "Hello, Mr. Kuroko!"

Kuroko blinks rapidly as he gently dislodges Momoi, no matter how she still attempts to nuzzle her way into his neck. "… Kise-kun," he slowly attempts, "what are you-"

"He has a proposition for you!" Momoi _sweetly_ interrupts. "Isn't that right, Ki-chan? Put the poor child down, she isn't a doll."

Kise sets the little girl down, scowling at Momoi. "Momoicchi is really rude, but yeah, I want to talk to you, Kurokocchi! Can we come in?"

The little girl blinks up at Kuroko, still silent.

"… Mm. You can come in." Kuroko hesitates, then kneels down, attempting in very careful English, "What is your name?"

"Ahh, her English isn't very good, though at least it's better than her Japanese…" Momoi muses, flouncing inside with her sleek ponytail blazing behind her. "Maybe if her father had properly been involved in her life from the beginning, that would be a different story. Ah! Tai-chan, hello! You have a beautiful home!"

"Tai-chan?" Kagami asks, frowning. "Kuroko, did I say she could call me that?"

Leaving Kagami to Momoi's "charms," Kise picks the girl up again, urging her to hold out her hand. "This is Suzanne. Isn't she-"

"Suzette."

The little voice is quiet, and as clear as a bell, and firm.

Kise blinks. "Really?"

She nods. "Oui. Je m'appelle Suzette." She reaches out, closing small fingers over Kuroko's hand.

"Ki-chan, you're the absolute _worst_," Momoi moans, burying her face into her hands. "It would have been better for her to have stayed with Dai-chan than you, I swear to _god_-"

English is one thing. French is another, and Kuroko is very certain he knows no French. Ah, well. Children, at least, rarely mind. He smiles all the same, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's nice to meet you, Suzette," he continues carefully in English, and he moves, plucking her from Kise's arms in one easy motion before pointing to himself. "My name is Tetsuya."

"Look at that, Ki-chan. Just _look_ at that," Momoi furiously tosses back to the blond. "This is why you're the worst!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Kise says, a glare in his eyes as he obviously tries to keep his voice non-threatening, sounding instead like candy-coated murder. "This is all your fault in the first place!"

"Tessuya," Suzette tries, scrunching up her face in a frown, then beams. "'Allo."

"_My_ fault?! _You're_ the one that was just going to pretend you didn't have anything to do with _that!_" Momoi gestures in Suzette's general direction.

"Te_tsu_ya," Kuroko gently, absently corrects with a smile, hoisting her up a bit more comfortably into his arms, his head tilting at the sight of Momoi and Kise's bickering. "Excuse me," he attempts to interrupt, switching back to Japanese, "what, exactly, is this about?"

Kise steps forward, beaming anxiously at Kuroko. "You like her, right? Isn't she just sooooo cute? I mean, have you ever seen a cuter kid than this?"

"… Kise-kun," Kuroko begins again, his tone less amused this time, "what is this about?"

Momoi folds her arms over her chest. "Yes, Ki-chan. _Do_ tell them what this is about."

"What it's _about_ is Momoicchi thinking I'm not good enough for Aominecchi and trying to break us up," Kise half-growls, half-whines, turning pleading eyes to Kuroko. "She went through my phone and called everyone in it looking for evidence that I'm a terrible person! What a horrible woman!"

"Oh my _god_, Ki-chan, you _are_ a terrible person! You're a horrible influence on Dai-chan, do you know that?! And I found out about _her_ and when I told you to go and _deal with it_ I didn't mean for you to bring her _back to Dai-chan's house-"_

Kuroko drifts away, Suzette still in his arms. "Do you like dogs?" he asks, and kneels down next to Nigou, setting her down as well. "His name is Nigou."

The little girl's eyes go wide, crystal blue and sparkling as she looks up at the dog. "J'aime des chiens!" she says softly, offering her hand out to be sniffed. "Monsieur, est-ce votre chien? C'est un chien mignon, vraiment!"

Kuroko considers asking Kise if he speaks any French at all, but that's highly unlikely and it seems rude to ask an idiot when he has a perfectly intelligent little girl to learn from instead. Hmm. And by process of elimination-"Chien?" he carefully attempts, pointing to Nigou.

Momoi settles for smacking the back of Kise's head. "He's going to be able to speak more French in the next five minutes than you ever have in your life! Maybe you'll at least be able to learn the word for _condom_ next time!"

The little girl looks up at Momoi, and says clearly, "Presérvatif," before turning back to Kuroko. "Chien," she says, pointing at the dog, then points at Kuroko. "Tess...Tetsuya?" Then she points at herself. "Suzette. Oui?"

"Shut _up_, Momoi, they're _bonding_! If you ruin this, I swear to god I'm going to dump her onto you and leave the country for good!"

Kuroko ignores them, and smiles at Suzette with a nod instead. "Oui," he echoes, and ah, that's an annoying word to say. Oh well. "Suzette… is very smart," he adds in English, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. "I-" A point to himself. "Like-" A little heart is formed with his hands, and then he points to her before gently tapping her nose with a smile. "You."

"_Me_ ruin this? There's no way I could ruin this! _You_ were going to ruin everything, and I'm _not_ letting you do that, not when Dai-chan is finally so happy and everything is _perfect_-"

Kuroko ignores them for one more minute before scooping Suzette up once more, walking over to Kagami, and setting her into his lap without hesitation. "Taiga," he introduces, pointing to the redhead, and then promptly turns around to stare at Kise. "Why did you bring me your illegitimate daughter?"

Kise looks at Momoi, then Kuroko. Then, he grabs Momoi, hauling her outside, and shuts the door with her on the other side. "Okay, now we can talk." He sighs, bracing his hands on his hips, and admits, "I didn't know about her. And whatever that brat Momoi said, I _always_ use condoms, just...sometimes something happens, I guess, I don't know! But Momoi was looking for dirt on me because she's crazy, and this girl I know in France told her that we had a kid but it was no big deal, she'd never even told me about it, and the next thing I freaking know, she went to France to _get her_ and dumped her on me! So…."

He gives Kuroko a weak smile. "I thought since you didn't have a job yet, maybe you'd like one? I'm so busy, I have five movies to shoot this year, and I don't want her to be lonely all the time."

"Let me iiiiiiin!" is Momoi's wail from outside, and for once, Kuroko ignores her for his own sanity.

"Kise-kun… really is an idiot sometimes," Kuroko settles upon with a long sigh. It's probably not worth it to argue about how it isn't in any part _okay_ that he didn't know he had a daughter _or that condoms can break_, but whatever. "I don't have a job yet," he hesitantly replies, "but what exactly are you asking me to do? We just moved in, and you know I'm not even licensed to teach in America… plus you really should have some involvement in her life, you _are_ her father."

"I do want to be in her life!" Kise looks over at the little girl, sighing. "Kurokocchi, I'm not much of a father, I only found _out_ about her a couple days ago, and now her mom is thrilled to not be a mom anymore and that's really not fair to the poor thing, you know? I just-I'm _really_ busy, and I speak okay English, but probably not good enough to know how to hire someone to take care of her? Or to know that she's being taken care of right, and I'm worried she wouldn't be able to tell me right if something was really wrong."

He sighs again, raking a hand back through his hair. "If you don't want to do it, I'll hire a nanny somehow. I just thought it might be perfect, because you love kids and you're probably kind of bored here in America."

For not the first time, Kuroko finds himself realizing that Kise _really_ is good at manipulating people-even when he's not actively trying to. He frowns, glancing away and back to Kagami. "We do have a lot of extra space," he sort of helplessly points out. "And she's so little…" _Leaving her in Kise's care seems more cruel than anything._

Kise lurches forward, grabbing Kuroko's hand. "I'm not trying to get rid of her or anything, I swear," he says earnestly, looking into Kuroko's face. "I can't _talk_ to her, and she'd be _miserable_ with me while I'm traveling around and working long hours on the set. And you have so much space, and-I mean, I'll pay you, too, I don't care about the money, I just…"

He swallows, looking over at the little girl, being held aloft in Kagami's huge arms. "I want her to be happy."

"… Kise-kun doesn't play fair," is the eventual, resigned reply. Not that it takes _much _when it comes to things like this, which is undoubtedly why Kise is _here_ and asking _him_. Kuroko sighs, shutting his eyes briefly. "It seems like something that would work out well for everyone involved," he quietly says. "All right."

Kise launches himself forward, grabbing Kuroko around the neck in a huge hug. "Ah, god, Kurokocchi, I could _kiss_ you! This is the most perfect thing-I have all of her stuff in the car, and a French-English and French-Japanese dictionary, but I can never look anything up fast enough, and-do you not need to talk it over with Kagami first?" he asks suddenly, casting a glance at where Kagami is now tossing kernels of popcorn into the air for Suzette to catch in her mouth.

"Kise-kun, _please_ don't kiss me." Kuroko taps out for mercy on Kise's back. "Kagami-kun will be very happy that I am now employed. Also, I've decided that I am very expensive, which he will also like. I am sure Momoi-san can help draw up some sort of paperwork regarding that, her English is very good."

"I worked it out in the car," Kise says eagerly. "I thought that a good babysitter makes like twenty American dollars an hour, right? So, I thought I'd pay you twice that, so you'll do a really good job!" He pulls out a piece of paper, with numbers scrawled in uneven script. "So I'd be paying you like $350,000 a year, does that work?"

"… Mm." Kuroko briefly attempts the math of his previous salary in Japan. _Well then._ "That's fine, I think. Ah, Kagami-kun, just to make sure," he calls over his shoulder, "is $350,000 a year good? American dollars are still a little…"

"That's about the salary of ten kindergarten teachers," Kagami says with a shrug. "I guess if Kise doesn't think you're worth any more than that…"

"Kagamicchi is trying to bankrupt me by playing on my affection for you!" Kise wails.

"I'm going to be raising your child," Kuroko solemnly replies. "That should be of utmost importance."

Kise lets out a low groan. "It is, you _know_ it is, but I know how much Daikicchi makes and I _know_ your boyfriend isn't hurting for-ah, screw it, how about $500,000? Any more than that and my accountant will step on me with high heels until they touch the floor through my body, though. She said so."

Kuroko almost wants to see that. "All right. Deal. In the meantime, you should at least learn some French, so you can better converse with her when you have the chance to visit."

"I will! I promise, I'll work really hard, I have some of those teaching programs on my mp3 player already!" Kise pulls out the player in question, brandishing it. "See? I downloaded them last night."

He looks over at Suzette, now perched precariously on Nigou's back grabbing fistfuls of fur, then down at the floor. "You're the only person I'd trust in the world like this," he admits. "Except my parents, and I can't burden them."

Kuroko sighs, and sort of wearily half-bows. Kise really is _harmless_, even if he grates on Kuroko's nerves at times. "You can count on me, Kise-kun. If it makes you feel any better, I do think your heart is in the right place. The children of actors never do quite turn out right if they're dragged through that life, so it's best that her upbringing be a peaceful one. I will take very good care of her."

Kise relaxes marginally, his shoulders slumping. "Thank you," he says, voice honest and a little bit shaken. "It's….kind of been a wild couple days, you know? I wasn't expecting….any of this. And I'm in the middle of a shoot, I put the whole thing on hold when Momoi called me, but if I'm not back tonight they're going to fire me and put tape on some British kid's eyes so he can play Japanese."

One hand lifts, sets down onto Kise's head, and gently pats. "Kise-kun. It's okay. You know, I'm sure Momoi-san didn't mean any harm by this-she's just looking out for Aomine-kun, that's her job. Either way, you should kiss Suzette good bye, and get back to work."

Kissing Suzette goodbye is an easy process, as she seems far more interested in climbing slowly up Kagami's leg. "I don't know how to explain to her that she lives here now," Kise says hesitantly, "but I guess she'll figure it out? I mean, I don't want her to think I sold her or anything." He shrugs. "Whatever, I'm sure she'll be happy with you. Take a billion pictures of my cute girl so I can put them all over my dressing room, will you?"

"Kise-kun acts in too many strange movies. She isn't going to think you sold her." Nevertheless, Kuroko thinks for a minute before simply plucking Suzette up into his arms. "Wave bye-bye to Papa," he patiently says, offering Kise a wave of his own.

Suzette may not speak much English, but those words she knows. "Bye bye, Papa," she says solemnly, curling her other arm around Kuroko's neck. Then she turns back to Kuroko, obviously not entirely sure who he's supposed to be, and content to accept that fate.

"Well," Kuroko slowly says, looking back to Kagami. "I have a job."

"I can see that." Kagami looks at the little girl, trying to decide whether he's supposed to be upset about this. "At least this one's not bitey. Are you really okay with signing on to be a nanny? I mean, you went to college and stuff."

"Mm. I don't mind." Kuroko sets her down gently onto Nigou's back. "At least I'll have something to do, and she's a very sweet girl. Also, I want to make sure she turns out as much unlike Kise-kun as possible."

Kagami reaches over, ruffling the girl's golden curls, and trying not to look thoroughly charmed when she butts her head against his hand. "Well, it doesn't have to be permanent. If you get sick of it we'll tell Kise to find himself another babysitter, and you can...hey, she looks hungry, how do you say hungry in French?"

"I have no idea," Kuroko admits, though it's an easy task of poking Nigou in the direction of the kitchen with Suzette riding on his back. "Hmmm. I think Kagami-kun likes this idea even more than he wants to let on."

"I do not! It's really rude of Kise to dump this on us," Kagami says defensively. "I'm not even that _good_ with kids." Nonetheless, he gets behind the counter, looking up at the pantry and furrowing his brow. "Do we have anything kids like?"

Suzette, sliding off Nigou's back, wraps both small hands around an orange, tries to open it with her small fingers, and looks up at Kuroko. "Monsieur, s'il vous plait?"

"Kagami-kun is very good with children. Just look how Nigou turned out." Kuroko bends down to scoop her up, sets her into a chair, and starts peeling the orange for her, handing her the slices one by one. "I don't approve of Kise-kun in this situation entirely, but… at least he is trying to do the right thing. He can recognize that he wouldn't be a good father to her right now."

"I think a monkey could recognize that." Kagami looks at the little girl, then back at the cupboard. "Hmm, I have an idea." He starts taking food out of the cupboard, setting it on the counter, then turns to Suzette. "Suzette? When you _like_ a food," he says, a big smile on his face as he rubs his stomach, "put it over _here_. If you _hate_ a food," he says, making a face and pantomining throwing up to her general giggles, "put it over _here_."

Industriously, Suzette begins picking up items, moving them left and right, hesitating over a few like miso and bagged rice before shrugging and leaving them in the middle.

"See? Kagami-kun is _very_ good with children. Especially when they aren't bitey," Kuroko says, then pauses, frowning a little bit in thought as he peels the last of the orange and hands her that piece. "Ah… introducing us by our given names was probably silly. We'll have to use them a lot more now for consistency, or she'll get confused."

Kagami shrugs. "That's going to be weirder for you than for me, I'm pretty much used to it. That's what we do, here. All my teammates call me Taiga anyway. Well, they call me Tiger, but that's pretty much the same as when I was a kid."

"You still call me Kuroko all the time," is the defensive retort, though Kuroko finds himself too busy trying not to laugh over Kagami's teammates calling him _Tiger_. "Americans are so strange… ah, it's going to be hard to take classes if I am watching her all the time. You'll just have to teach us. And she can teach us French."

"We're gonna be one of _those_ families, huh?" Kagami asks with a grin. Well, there's really nothing to be done about it, is there? He looks down, picks up a piece of orange, and says clearly, "Orange."

"Orange."

"Orange."

Kagami blinks. "Wow, that was good."

She shakes her head, blonde curls bouncing. "Monsieur Taiga, en français, l'orange est l'orange. Orange."

"And in Japanese," Kagami says slowly in English, pointing to Kuroko, "O_ran_ji."

That makes her blink, head tilting in confusion.

"Right, we'll work on that."

"… Mm. Kagami-kun just called us a family," Kuroko softly points out, smiling a little as he bends down to press a kiss to the top of Suzette's head. "You like her a lot."

"At least she isn't a dog." Kagami turns a little bit red, and starts packing up the food, sorting it by things Suzette likes and things she doesn't. "How do you ask if she wets the bed or not? Or if she's allergic to anything? Or if she has any medical history things we-dammit, Kise can't just not tell us this stuff!"

"Monsieur Tigre est en colère."

"Kise-kun probably doesn't know either," Kuroko mildly points out, still smiling. "It's fine. Ah… Taiga is noisy," he solemnly tells Suzette in English, pointing to Kagami. "A noisy American."

Suzette nods so seriously that it's obvious she knows these words. "Est-il un touriste?"

"What? I'm not a tourist! Kuroko-uh, Tetsuya, stop feeding her nonsense. This is America," he says in careful English, trying to keep his accent out of it as much as possible. "Taiga is American now. Tetsuya is American. Suzette is American."

Suzette eats another slice of orange.

"I don't know, I think it was very accurate, considering how excessive Kaga…um, Taiga… is at times," he says to Kagami, trying very hard not to stumble over his name and blush about it, too. "Ah, but not a tourist," Kuroko gently corrects her. "Taiga is just American. _Very_ American. _I_ am Japanese… like Papa."

Suzette shrugs. "D'accord."

"I don't think she gets it. Oi, you have to be a little American now," Kagami reminds Kuroko. "You're going to be a citizen and everything, once we get….you know."

"If she didn't get it, she'd say so." Kuroko blinks back at Kagami, his head tilting. "I'll be a little bit American. We'll go to all of your basketball games and we can taunt Kise-kun by taking lots of pictures of her posing with basketball superstar Kagami Taiga."

"Taiga Kagami," Kagami corrects him. "I know it's weird, but you'll get used to it. Hey, know what? We should go out to a buffet. That way we can see her pick all the food she likes, so we can go shopping." Also, he's starving.

"English is so annoying," Kuroko crossly says, but he nods all the same. "All right, that sounds good. She can see the black hole inside of you early on, it's for the best. Suzette," he begins, moving to help her out of the chair. "Dinner?"

The girl blinks. "C'est quoi?"

"She doesn't get it. Just bring her, everyone likes buffets. And it has nothing to do with being a black hole, don't give her weird ideas!"

"It isn't weird if it's true." Kuroko shrugs and just picks her up. If nothing else, he will be far from bored in the near future.

Kagami isn't a father.

He'd been pretty sure of that, anyway, until Suzette had gone off to her first day of kindergarten. He'd watched her go, waving goodbye as her curls bounced and her lunchbox had swung back and forth in her hand, until she'd disappeared into Mrs. Fletcher's hand-painted classroom, the door closing behind her.

Then he'd swallowed around the lump in his throat, gotten into his car, and tried to decide what to do with himself for the rest of the day.

So, he can't really be blamed for rescheduling his meeting with his publicist, making sure he has the rest of the day free to redecorate Suzette's room in her new favorite colors. He's also pretty sure he can't be blamed for surprising Kuroko when he'd returned from all his errands, and demanding they pick up Suzette together and go to the park after school.

He stops feeling stupid when she runs up to him as soon as the bell rings, launching herself at his torso and calling him "Papa." Kuroko is still Tetsuya, but he doesn't seem to mind that.

"I used to go to this park all the time when I was a kid," Kagami explains, parking the car and unbuckling Suzette's car seat that she swears she doesn't need anymore. "It's been re-done, now everything's plastic and bright colors and no rounded corners, it used to be all metal and wood. Oi, Tetsu, did you bring the basketball?"

"Said as if you don't have four of them in the car truck," Kuroko answers as he fishes one out, giving it a spin on one fingertip. It's hard to remember a time Kagami seemed so honestly and entirely _happy_, which is enough to constantly bring a smile to his own face. Not that they weren't happy together in Japan, just-this is a different _level_. "You should teach Suzette how to dunk, she looks like a natural."

"I want to be number eleven like Papa," Suzette announces, then squeals when Kagami picks her up onto his shoulders. "Tetsuya, I want the ball!"

Kagami beams, slapping the ball out of Kuroko's hands and dribbling it as he walks. "You're getting _very_ good at 'I want,' Suzette," he praises, giving her ankle a tug before handing her the ball. It's much better than the previous 'Give me' she'd espoused. "Don't forget your 'please' and 'thank you,' either."

"Papa doesn't say please and thank you. Papa takes the ball from Tetsuya."

"That's because Papa is a rude American," Kuroko sniffs. "If he had any courtesy, he would ask very nicely for me to pass it to him like I used to."

"I want to see Tetsuya pass," Suzette says, suddenly excited. "Papa, I want down."

Kagami sets her down onto her feet, tossing the ball back over his shoulder to Kuroko without looking. "This is the warm-up," he promises, "and then Papa will teach you how to dunk like an NBA player."

"Papa thinks he's very cool," Kuroko says with a laugh. "Which, hmm… Taiga-kun, can you even still catch one of these? I think you're terribly out of practice." Which is about the only warning he offers before dribbling it once, and immediately sending an ignite pass kai in Kagami's direction.

Kagami snatches the ball from the air, dribbles once to get to the free throw line, and launches himself into the air, showing off as hard as he can, because damn, if he doesn't want to impress Suzette, who does he? It doesn't take too much effort now that he's training hard with some of the world's best players every day, and he does make an effort not to break the park's rusty hoop with the coolest dunk this park has ever seen.

At least, it _would_ have been, if the park's hoops were up to regulation standard height.

Kagami's face is bright red when he overshoots the hoop by several feet, managing to toss the ball over his shoulder in what he hopes is a cool-looking move anyway. It bounces a little off the rim, but goes in nonetheless, dropping down to the ground as he does.

Suzette turns to look up at Kuroko. "Papa doesn't shoot like that in games. Is that supposed to happen?"

Kuroko makes a valiant effort not to start choking on air and laughing himself to the pavement. "Maybe he's more out of practice than I thought," he fairly wheezes, _having_ to turn away and clamp a hand over his mouth lest he just die right then and there. "Please keep being so cool, NBA Superstar Taiga Kagami."

A basketball comes shooting at Kuroko's face-not an ignite pass, but almost as fast. "I'm going to dunk you next time," Kagami growls, and picks Suzette back up onto his shoulder. "Tetsuya is going to sit in time out. You're going to learn to dunk."

"I want the ball!"

"Yeah, yeah, here's the ball, honey. Okay, just like last time, ready to jump?"

"Please don't dunk her instead," Kuroko manages to squeak out from where he all but collapses on the ground. "I wouldn't put it past you, with your current level of ability."

"The problem isn't with me! The problem is with the stupid tiny hoop!"

"It's not nice to call someone stupid, Papa."

"The hoop isn't a person!"

"A challenger has appeared," Kuroko manages with a very, very straight face (_somehow_). "The only one that can beat you isn't you, but instead a stupid tiny hoop."

"Don't compare me to that-" Kagami switches to Japanese. "Don't compare me to that idiot asshole!"

Suzette scowls. "Papa's cheating. Tetsuya, is he saying bad words?"

"Awful words. Your Papa is the worst."

Suzette nods solemnly. "I want the ball."

Kagami passes gently, then flops down by the side of the court. "You want to be in the WNBA someday?" he teases, as Suzette attempts something like a layup ending in an underhand two-hand toss that doesn't reach the bottom of the backboard.

"No. I'm going to be a basketball princess."

"Ah," Kuroko says, nodding in full understanding as he retrieves the ball and gently bounces it back to Suzette. "Like Midorima-kun. You'll meet him some day. He'll want to know what your zodiac sign is; for some reason, that is important to princesses."

Suzette beams as Kagami chokes and tries not to die on the ground. "I'm the Tiger like Papa. Papa got me the gold card with the tiger on it and everything, and I always circle the tiger on the menu at the Chinese place."

"Mm, to that, Princess Midorima-kun would say something like… 'unmei nanodayo.' That means something like… destiny, or fate. Right, Taiga-kun?" It seems as though Kagami is having trouble breathing. Kuroko is pleased. He's less pleased when he ends up with the ball again, takes a shot, and watches it bounce off the rim. Ah, well. "He will want to know your Western sign, though. I'm an Aquarius, Papa is a Leo."

Suzette blinks. "What am I?"

"You're an Aries," Kagami wheezes, "but it doesn't matter, Tetsuya's being really Japanese today. You don't want to take advice about being a basketball princess from someone like that."

"I don't know, I think Midorima-kun took his position very seriously. It must have had some merit, nanodayo."

Kagami thinks he's going to tear something in his stomach. "You," he gasps, rolling over onto his stomach as he cackles, "are the _worst_. The _worst_. God, I should call him and say you said that."

"Boys can't be princesses," Suzette declares, then looks up at Kuroko. "Unless maybe they ask nicely."

"Please do, and make sure he is on speaker phone when you tell him so Takao-kun can hear clearly." Kuroko smiles down at Suzette. "Boys can be princesses, though Midorima-kun never asked nicely. Girls can be dashing princes, too… though I think you would make a much prettier princess, especially if it's in basketball."

"That's all right, then," Suzette decides.

Then, the ball hits the ground as tinkling music comes from nearby, and Suzette's eyes go wide. "Can I ice cream want ice cream please please please ice cream Papa _please_!"

Kagami rolls his eyes, reaching for his wallet. "Fine, fine, you can have a dollar for ice cream, just don't get it all over your-"

She grabs the money from his hand, pelting off to parts unknown at least as fast as Aomine has ever moved. Kagami curses, tugging on Kuroko's arm. "Come on, we can't let her get snatched."

"Maybe she really is going to have a career in basketball," Kuroko wheezes as they dart after her. "I mean, considering her sperm donor, I guess it isn't entirely surprising that she's really athletic-"

On a nice day like this, it isn't surprising that there's a veritable crowd of children around the ice cream truck. Suzette's hair makes her stand out, at least (really, who is _that blonde_ naturally?), and Kuroko heaves a long sigh, bracing against a nearby tree as he catches his breath.

Actually, she isn't the only one that really stands out. If Kuroko wasn't entirely certain of his own lucidity, he would have been _sure_ he was caught in a time loop, and was seeing an itty bitty miniature of Kagami, greedily grabbing at his own procured ice cream. Kuroko's head tilts almost entirely sideways and he blinks-a few times, just to make sure he isn't seeing things. "… Do you have relatives in the area?" _Other than your father, obviously. _

"Huh? I mean, just-you know," Kagami says, suddenly uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

A child tugs on his arm as he's trying to keep watch on Suzette. "Father," he hears in perfect Japanese, "I want another one. No, three more."

Kagami looks down at the boy.

The boy looks up at him.

The boy screams. "You're not my father!"

Kagami holds his hands up in the air, startled as everyone turns to look at him. "I never said I was! You came up to me!"

Briefly, Kuroko wonders why they can't ever have an entirely _normal_ day.

It's highly unlikely that _coincidence_ allows for a child to look almost identical to Kagami, and speak Japanese, and-ahh, it's so obvious that Kuroko nearly winces visibly. He keeps one eye on Suzette, the other scanning the crowds, though that's all sort of moot when he suddenly has someone nearly as tall as Kagami in his field of vision and… ah. Yes. They look very similar, too, even if this not-Kagami is much older.

"Hayato," is the firm snap in bitty-Kagami-look-alike's direction, "come here."

It takes everything in Kuroko's power not to _say something_, especially when the man doesn't even spare a glance in Kagami's direction. Actually-never mind, he can't quite bite his tongue. "Excuse me," he politely, albeit irritably begins, "but it seems a little rude to not greet your son after so-"

And that's a back turned to his face. _Lovely_.

Kagami swallows hard. He tries to tell himself not to go after his father, his stepmother in the distance, his little _brother_ that he's never even met. It's over, he tries to tell himself, and he gives Kuroko a bitter little smile.

Then, Suzette tugs on his hand. "Who's that, Papa?"

Kagami's heart tightens, and he gives Kuroko a shrug. "Unmei, nanodayo?" he asks with a half-grin, and turns to grab the retreating man by the arm. "Dad. Wait a second, please."

"More like complete jerk, nanodayo," Kuroko mutters underneath his breath once Kagami is out of hearing range, forcing himself to turn his attention to Suzette.

Kagami's hand is shoved from his arm in short order, and the older man turns to his wife immediately after. "Take Hayato to the car," he says before sparing one glance back to Kagami. "Of all the places to speak to me, here and now isn't it, _especially_ around my son."

Kagami grits his teeth. "I didn't come _looking_ for you," he growls, trying to keep his voice low. "I was here with my family, same as you. I-I just thought maybe we could talk." God, he's an idiot. After everything his father had said, even now looking at the man's face makes him feel like a child. "Dad, I'm still your son."

"I believe I made it clear what I thought of that years ago." He snorts. "There's absolutely nothing to discuss and you know that-perhaps too well, if you are out and about with your 'family' as well."

Kagami can _hear_ the quotation marks. "It's so easy for you?" he asks quietly, trying to keep the anger from rising up and consuming him whole. "To just pretend you never even had me? Did you _ever_ give a shit about me at all?"

"If I didn't _give a shit_," is the low, flat response, "I wouldn't have been upset in the first place. I heard you were playing for the Lakers now," he stiffly adds. "_That_ is the kind of son I could be proud of, and yet you still insist on being some sort of delinquent at the same time."

"I'm not a _delinquent_," Kagami snarls. "I pay taxes. I have a house. I take my little girl to kindergarten. I'm a goddamn superstar player for _your favorite team_ in the NBA. I'm a _good person_, Dad!" His voice cracks, and he looks away, jamming his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "I didn't even know you had another kid. I didn't know I had a brother."

"Well," his father coldly retorts, "now you do." He sucks in a slow, calming breath and _tries_ to say without malice, "If you want to visit with your child, I might think of discussing it with my wife. I had every intention of letting you know about your brother before you told me about your other involvements."

"Other involvements," Kagami echoes quietly. "That's my family you're talking about." But this is more progress than he's made in years of unanswered phone calls and letters, and he's never really expected much. Slowly, he nods. "I'd like that. To meet him, and to see Jenny. I-I'm not asking to move back in or have family dinners, or anything. I just…." He swallows hard, trying not to think about sitting by his father's side while he'd done paperwork, or going to work with him, or going to the park, or those rare family dinners when he'd put down the computer and carved the roast for everyone. "I miss you."

_Then you should have thought about that before making the choices you did_ is the look plainly on his father's face. "I'll speak to her, then. You still have my number, obviously. Have a good afternoon, Taiga."

"Yeah. You too." Kagami stands still, watching his father walk away. He's not _quite_ ready, he thinks, to turn around and see Kuroko and Suzette.

Of course, being a father means he can't really make that choice. A firm tug of a small hand on his makes him look down. Suzette solemnly hands him an ice cream bar. "Tetsuya said this is good for your black hole."

"Maybe forcefully dunking a basketball into a stupid tiny hoop until it breaks would help, too," Kuroko quietly suggests from a pace behind. "Everything all right, Taiga-kun?" _You can say yes and I won't believe it and I'll fix it later if I can't right now._

Kagami smiles. Not because he's happy, or because he thinks Kuroko will believe it, but because of Suzette. He wraps an arm around Kuroko, tugging him close. "Yeah, sure. But it's up to Suzette what we do next, she's the basketball princess that got through a whole day of kindergarten today."

Suzette sucks on her ice cream, thinking. "Can we eat Tetsuya's food tonight? With the wriggly fishies?"

"We can eat anything you want," Kuroko tells her before stretching up, planting a kiss to Kagami's lips, and then promptly smooshing his cheeks together. "Look, now Papa is a fish, too."

"Papa," Suzette says solemnly, "is a very cute fish."

Kagami's cheeks turn pink, and he grabs Kuroko in a crushing hug. Then he grabs Suzette, placing her on his hip, and gives Kuroko another kiss. "Yeah," he says quietly, turning to look at Kuroko. "I'm fine. It's fine." Maybe it is.

"But we should eat the gross kind that makes Papa talk about how American food is better," Suzette says calmly. "Because it's funny."

"Let's not make Papa suffer through too bad of a dinner tonight," Kuroko mildly chides. "Remember, we have to feed his black hole or it will eventually destroy the earth."

"But we're not supposed to go back to the buffet place anymore, Tetsuya!"

"If you two keep it up we're going to eat at home!"

"I would cook a buffet for Papa, but that seems like it would be suffering, too."

"Please don't, that tortures me too."

"At least she's picking up your terrible manners," Kagami mutters, opening the car door and fastening Suzette into her car seat. "Saying rude things in a nice voice is still rude, Suzette. Even if Tetsuya does it and it's funny."

"I don't know what Taiga-kun is talking about. I have absolutely no sense of humor."

Kagami shoots him a dirty look, closing Suzette into the backseat before grabbing him, pulling him close and hooking his chin over Kuroko's head for a minute. "Just give me a second," he mumbles, arms wrapping tight around the slight warmth of him.

"If we didn't have Suzette in the car, I would say take as long as you need," Kuroko murmurs, tilting his head up just a bit to press a kiss to the hollow of Kagami's throat as he lets himself be squished. "What did he say, anyway? Or would you rather wait to tell me at home?"

"Same old stuff, but more polite because we were in public," Kagami says, feeling suddenly very tired. "I guess I have a brother now. He says he'll think about letting me meet him."

"I see." Kuroko gently tugs Kagami down, pressing another, soft kiss to his temple. The worst thing is feeling utterly _useless_, and in this, Kuroko is certain he is. "I'm really sorry, Taiga-kun."

"I'm….I'm sorry for him." Kagami's smile is weak. "I mean, I'm sorry for me, but he's missing out on getting to know you and Suzette."

"Mmm, well. _I'm_ fairly unpleasant, but I am very much in agreement regarding Suzette."

Kagami opens the door, sliding into the driver's seat. "Sorry to make you wait, let's go eat."

"It's okay. Tetsuya's batteries were low again?"

Kagami shakes his head. "Mine were low this time."

"Even superstar basketball players have to recharge once in awhile," Kuroko tells her with a smile. "Princesses, too. Don't forget that."

"We should all recharge together at home," Suzette decides. "I mean-I _want_ to recharge together. Papa can be on the bottom and Tetsuya in the middle and me on the top."

"Ahh, I want to be a sandwich…" Kuroko sighs in agreement, leaning back in his seat.

"Stop talking about sandwiches, you're making me hungry."

"Papa's always hungry."

"I'm driving to the restaurant."

"Papa's always driving to the restaurant."

"Oi, Suzette, quit it!"

"Can you say that in Japanese, Suzette? Papa wa _itsumo_-" Maybe he shouldn't torment Kagami _too_ much, but if it keeps his mind off of things…

Kagami scowls, and retorts, "Suzette, how about instead, Tetsuya est mai, ah, dammit, I mean, darn, mai-"

"Méchant," Suzette says, and giggles. "Papa's good at that!"

"Taiga-kun is a rude American after all. I'm an _angel_."

"Tetsuya," Suzette lectures, "is an American too."

"No, honey, he's Japanese," Kagami explains, not for the first time. "He just lives in America. I'm the only American citizen, that's like an official American."

"How come?"

"Because you have to live here for a really long time."

"How come?"

"Because Americans have a lot of rules," Kuroko answers matter-of-factly. "In Japan, it's even more difficult."

Suzette frowns. "I want to be American if Papa is American. Please?"

Kagami frowns. "Sorry, honey. Your father is Japanese."

"Hmm? Kise is the reason I can't be American like Papa?"

Shit, that sounds like tears. "I'll talk to him or something," Kagami says hastily. "Hey, we're almost at the restaurant, start thinking about all the good food you want to eat."

Kuroko twists around in his seat, offering her an easy smile. "Papa is also Japanese, you know. You can be both Japanese and American if we say so. I'm just very Japanese, you've probably heard Papa tell me that all the time."

Slowly, Suzette nods. "I guess. Can I still be French too? Like my Mama?"

"Mmhm. That's why it's good for you to teach us how to speak French, so we can be French with you."

The clench around Kagami's heart eases, as he pulls in and looks over at Kuroko, then back at Suzette. _He's the one missing out_, he thinks firmly. "We'll all be Japanese and American and French. That way it's a real family."

"Okay!"

"… But in different proportions, because I am very Japanese and Papa is excessively American."

"You're just going to confuse her," Kagami mutters, unbuckling Suzette and taking her tiny hand as she skips into the restaurant. "You use way too big words for a five year old."

"Mm, I don't know about that. She has a very large vocabulary for a little girl." Kuroko blinks up at him innocently. "Perhaps it is Taiga-kun who needs me to use smaller words."

"_Perhaps_ it is Tetsuya who needs to walk home after dinner," Kagami growls, reaching over and giving Kuroko a firm pinch.

"I probably could use the exercise. Or I can figure out something else later," Kuroko idly muses, reaching back to return the pinch squarely on Kagami's ass.

Kagami doesn't _squeak_.

That's _definitely_ not a squeak.

Absolutely not.

"Papa squeaked."

"I did not!"

"Maybe it was just the wind."

Later, Kuroko wonders if they could have asked for an easier child.

The answer is 'probably not', especially when Suzette promptly passes out in the back seat after dinner, and stays that way even when Kagami carries her inside and tucks her into bed. Kuroko can count on one hand, too, the number of times Suzette has ever woken up (he was far from being an easy child like that, when he was her age).

"… You're certain you're all right?" he quietly presses when Kagami slips from her room, and Kuroko peers up at him. "If nothing else, you should recharge more."

Kagami gives him a wry smile, and wraps an arm around him, leaning into Kuroko's slight form in the middle of the hallway. "It was just my dad being a dick," he mutters. "He hasn't given me any reason in four years to think it would be different. I just…" He shrugs, wordless. "Didn't expect to see him."

Kuroko's arms wind firmly about Kagami's back, and he gives him a solid squeeze that sort of lifts himself up onto his tiptoes in the process of it. "I almost wanted to punch him-no, I definitely wanted to punch him," Kuroko idly corrects. "If he had said anything really awful, I would have."

Kagami grins a little at the mental image that conjures up. "I would definitely have paid to see that. I just…" He shrugs again. "It's hard to explain, I guess. I get that he's old-school, but he's the one who brought me to America in the first place, you know? If he wanted me to be a good Japanese boy, he should have left me in Tokyo."

"Ah, yes. Because Taiga-kun is a truly dreadful person and not good at all." The roll of Kuroko's eyes is nearly audible. He hopes Kagami's father hears it from across the city. "Maybe you don't act very Japanese at times, but I don't think that has any bearing on liking _men_. I think that would have been the same whether you grew up in Tokyo or America."

"But if I were in _Japan_," Kagami points out, "I'd probably just have kept it quiet. You know, done the Japanese thing and gotten married and spent two nights a week in Ni-chome. When I first told him, that's what pissed him off. He couldn't understand why I had to say it out loud and make a _thing_ out of it. Like who I fall in love with isn't important."

"Mm." Kuroko's eyes lid, and he butts his face lightly into the side of Kagami's neck. "I'm glad that you made a thing about it. I like being important."

Kagami looks down, and says hesitantly, "I wasn't sure if you'd want me to. You're….kind of really Japanese that way too. I know you're not comfortable with making a thing out of it, that's why I didn't tell you before I talked to him."

"… I probably wouldn't have wanted you to say anything," Kuroko admits on a sigh. "Sometimes I wish you hadn't, for your sake, but then I think we probably wouldn't have ended up here. Taiga-kun is a lot more brave than me in that sort of thing. Though-the way your father looked at me today, like I was some sort of vile temptress…" He stares up at Kagami. "Look how vile I am. Just look."

"Very vile," Kagami agrees seriously. He cups Kuroko's face in his hands, leaning down to give him a slow, measured kiss. "And very tempting."

"Mostly vile, I think," Kuroko hums, stretching up on tiptoe to kiss Kagami back properly, giving his lower lip a slow nibble. "You should do something about that."

Kagami's hands drop down, cupping Kuroko's ass and lifting him several inches off the ground to kiss properly. "Mm, some kind of punishment, do you think?" he asks, already letting the meeting with his father fade from his mind. This is worth _any_ amount of being disowned.

"Yes, I should definitely be punished," Kuroko cheerfully agrees, slinging his arms about Kagami's shoulders with a little shiver creeping up his spine. It isn't as if Kagami ever _lost_ any of that muscle tone over the years (being a fireman is work enough), but _really_ training again as an athlete does _wonders_. "I'm the worst, do something about it."

Kagami manages to keep from making too much noise before they get to their room. Then he kisses Kuroko with abandon, hungry, needing, hands gentle and strong as he holds him up, mouth pressed _hard_ against his. "Do something?" he murmurs, eyes lidding at the idea. "You have something in mind?"

Kagami isn't really fair on most days, but _this… _Kuroko groans into his mouth, squirming in his grasp as a leg winds tighter about Kagami's waist. "You should probably punish me until I can't get up tomorrow," he breathes, dragging his nails down the back of Kagami's neck and shoulders. "And leave lots of little bruises to look at later so I remember what I've done."

Kagami takes a long stride and shoves Kuroko up against the nearest wall, holding him there with the weight of his body, letting his hand come up to his hair, caressing, tangling, touching. He moves to bite Kuroko's neck, sucking hard at the mark, and murmurs, "You get to tell Suzette you got blue chicken pox again."

"My favorite," Kuroko manages on a shaky breath, his hands curling and clawing their way against Kagami's back as he lets his head fall back, eagerly welcoming the drag of Kagami's teeth, and the way he sucks on the skin until it _aches_. "Ahh… I'm so glad you're a basketball superstar that practices all the time, you feel _really_ good."

"Are you saying I didn't always feel good?" Kagami asks, raising an eyebrow before setting his mouth to the curve of Kuroko's neck. He gets a thigh in between Kuroko's, pressing up hard, feeling just how _slight_ Kuroko is by comparison. Even if he's grown a few inches since their meeting, he's still a small guy, and Kagami doesn't even feel the weight of him. He nibbles a little, murmuring against Kuroko's skin, "How do you want me?" It's always better to ask, with Kuroko.

"You've always felt good-it's just even more distracting now, especially because you're so happy about everything," Kuroko manages as his breath hitches and his voice breaks a little at the end, his teeth briefly sinking into his lower lip to keep back what was probably a mewl as his back arches to better press himself against the slide of Kagami's thigh. "… I meant it when I said I didn't want to move tomorrow," he admits, a flush spreading high over his cheeks. "Taiga-kun should just have his way with me. Thoroughly."

Somehow, Kagami's fairly sure that he'll still get the blame for this in the morning. Kuroko has a penchant for asking to be thoroughly ravished and complaining about it the next day.

Not that it's ever stopped Kagami before.

He sets Kuroko down just for long enough to yank his pants down, then tosses him bodily over the side of the bed. It's a high bed for a reason, namely that it holds Kuroko up at a pretty perfect height for moments like these. Kagami's hands squeeze, spreading Kuroko's cheeks, rubbing a thumb over that pretty hole before he reaches for lube. "Want me in here?" he asks, already slicking up his fingers, sliding them slowly down himself. They don't really _fuck_ that often, usually preferring to rub off together, take turns sucking, or a dozen other things that don't leave Kuroko walking bowlegged and ginger for the next couple days.

Kuroko manages an eager, mindless nod, his face hot as he buries it into the sheets, his hands clenching tightly into fabric. "Really want it," he whispers, squirming back with a ragged sigh. His cock aches as it slides against the bed, and just that much friction is enough to make his breath even harder to catch. "Taiga-kun is always so _gentle_-you really, really shouldn't be."

"_God_, Tetsu-"

Kagami's voice comes out in a groan, and he presses two fingers at that hole, leaning forward to set his mouth to Kuroko's neck again. He slides them in deep, feeling the sudden slick tight heat, twisting and spreading his fingers to try and somehow make it easier. Kuroko is just so _small_. "God," he breathes again, "I'm gonna fuck you so hard."

Belatedly, Kuroko clamps a hand over his own mouth, muffling the broken whine that escapes when he _already_ feels spreads so wide, _already_ so full when it's just Kagami's fingers sliding deep inside of him. His thighs bunch and twitch as he wriggles to try and splay them wider, as if that will _help _(it never does), and he huffs out a hot, ragged breath into his own hand as he ruts backward. "_Please_-"

"Stop it," Kagami chides, fetching a sharp slap to Kuroko's rear. "You're gonna _hurt_ yourself, how many times do I have to warn you?" He's not sure if he's _ever_ been this hard, and he has to take himself in hand for a second just to ease that intense, crushing pressure of it. He slides a third finger in, though it doesn't go easy, and Kagami grimaces. "Let me work on you like this for a minute."

Kuroko _definitely_ squeaks when he's slapped, his face red as he shoves it down into the bed and a long, aching shudder twitches through him. "Does that count as 'working'?" he breathily manages, arching up nearly onto his toes when he shivers again, and _tries_ to behave and not act quite as desperate as he feels. It's easier said than done, even when he's still too tight and his mind narrowly focused on the idea of Kagami fucking him _hard_ isn't making him any less excited. "N… not my fault even your fingers are big and that it feels really-_really_ good."

Kagami curses, using one hand to squeeze his cock at the base, twisting and spreading his fingers, trying to stretch Kuroko's hole out a _little_ before shoving in. "You promised you'd practice more before we did this again," he grunts, "so I wouldn't feel so guilty. Stop making those fucking noises, I'm gonna lose it."

"You're the one that-ahh-smacked me, I can't _help it_, and I don't like doing this without _you_-" Kuroko fairly _whines_, though he makes a valiant effort by biting into his lower lip to muffle his voice when he's spread so _wide_. He slumps into the bed, shivering hard. "D… don't feel guilty, just _fuck me_-"

Well, shit, Kagami's only human. He pulls his fingers out, wiping them off on the sheets as he takes himself in hand, guiding the head to rub against Kuroko's ass, catching against his hole. And then everything becomes moot, because he'll _die_ if he's not inside Kuroko in the next few seconds. He grabs his hips, positioning right, and shoves in hard, pinning Kuroko against the bed with one rough shove of his cock deep inside. His vision whites out, and stays grayed out at the edges as he rocks, holding in as deep as he can in hard, pounding thrusts. "Tetsu-_fuck_, Tetsu-"

Kuroko is _glad_ for how his mind clicks off.

It makes it a lot easier just to _take_ every inch of Kagami's cock that's shoved inside of him, a lot easier just to bite into the sheets and muffle his whines and groans there as his back arches and everything trembles and shivers and _aches_ when Kuroko's stuffed so full that it sends twinging little sparks up all the way down to his toes. Maybe that's the reason they don't do this very often-he just _melts_, lending himself to the yank of Kagami's hands and the shove of his hips, broken, needy noises caught up in his throat.

It's not like Kagami _means_ to fuck Kuroko so hard all he can do is cry and whimper. It's just that when he's _inside_ like this, there's nothing he can do, nothing he can think, nothing but how _good_ it feels to be buried inside that perfect tight heat, squeezing him like a vice, so tight his cock aches, and that only makes him shove in harder. He's not usually much of a biter, but it's what Kuroko wants, and the raw primal need behind it is something that speaks to Kagami right now.

"T… Taiga-" Kuroko _squirms_ when Kagami's teeth set to his flesh, his breath hiccuping in his chest when every bite seems to go straight to his cock. He somehow has the mind to reach down, scrabbling for one of Kagami's hands, and drags it upward to his mouth, muffling the next, breathy whine that escapes into it instead of his own.

Kuroko is actually trying to kill him.

Kagami closes his hand, pressing it hard over Kuroko's mouth, and his cock _throbs_ at just the idea of it. He drags Kuroko back onto his cock, feeling every exhalation and muffled whine against his palm. "I like that you can't keep quiet," he grunts. It's probably mean of him to deliberately avoid touching Kuroko's cock, but the idea of him coming from just having Kagami's cock inside him is too arousing to ignore. "I'm sorry, I know it's too much but I can't stop, shit-"

Kuroko _would_ tell him that _it's fine, it's good, just keep fucking me_, but all he can manage is to groan into Kagami's hand instead, his eyes rolling back when he's pulled back onto his cock again and again. It _is_ too much, and the idea of that makes him grind his own cock harder down into the bed, no matter how weak and boneless Kagami makes him feel when he's fucking him like this.

He feels used and _melty_ and so very, _very_ overwhelmed when he comes, his broken, breathless _whimper_ lost into Kagami's hand when he spills before Kuroko can even reach one of his own hands down to touch himself. He sags, a shivering, sweating mess, his vision sort of glazing around the edges with every lingering twitch that pulses through him. _Good, really good_.

Kagami really isn't sure when he loses himself. It might be when Kuroko comes, clenching down on his cock so tight Kagami curses incoherently. It might be when he collapses, sagging bonelessly down to the bed, pliant in Kagami's arms with the kind of love and trust and arousal that means so much more than any words could.

Kagami chokes off a cry, burying his face in Kuroko's hair, trying not to wake Suzette when he comes hard, flooding Kuroko with a few last, ragged snaps of his hips. Then he slumps over, trying not to slide to the floor. "Uh."

"Mmnn." Kuroko blindly reaches back, grabbing for whatever part of Kagami that he can sort of half-heartedly get his hand on. "Taiga-kun is _really_ good at punishments," is the hazy, still-muffled sigh into Kagami's hand, sounding very, very pleased.

Kagami moves his hand, then slides slowly to the side, rolling onto the bed and tugging Kuroko up by his damp, rumpled shirt. "You're gonna be mad at me tomorrow. You're really unfair." Not that that stops him from pulling Kuroko up for a slow, deep kiss.

Kuroko hums against Kagami's mouth, gently nipping as he wriggles up against him, no matter how boneless he feels. "But I'm not mad right now. You've really made me a mess and I like it."

"If you keep your legs closed it won't be so messy," Kagami says vaguely, nuzzling against Kuroko as he wraps an arm around his waist. "And I'm lying in your wet spot, so there's your revenge."

"Taiga-kun deserves it after slapping me. _You're_ the worst."

"You're the one who told me to punish you!"

"Yes. Maybe you should have done it more, I can't decide."

"You obviously didn't learn your lesson," Kagami growls. "You just want to piss me off so I'll stop being a gentleman."

Kuroko nods shamelessly. "I already told you I'm a vile temptress. That deserves many punishments over the span of a week at least."

Kagami bites his ear gently. "As long as you promise to punish me back sometimes. I always feel bad for hurting you even a little, you can make me feel better about it."

"I'm going to make you go to practice one day covered in bite marks. You've been warned."

Kagami flushes hot, knowing Kuroko will make good on that. "Do you have any idea how much the guys tease me when you do that?"

"Mm. That's why it's punishment." Kuroko snuggles close, curling himself into a ball against Kagami's chest. "Everyone needs to know that Taiga-kun is mine."

Somehow, Kagami can't even be mad. "If they don't, send them to me. I'll tell them who I belong to."

"Good." Kuroko tips his head up, setting his teeth gently into the curve of Kagami's shoulder. "And I'll tell them who I belong to, too."


End file.
